Lions Den
by Nocturnal Rose
Summary: Her Grandmother died, she was place in the Curtis's custody. She's been home schooled, doesn't have any friends other than Soda, and she's a mute. Then she was introduced to Dally Winston, and she realizes that her problems have just begun.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. **

**Chapter one **

Sitting in the house I had grown up in for what could be the last time was rather unnerving. It wasn't the house so much but the loss of the memories that had taken place in the house. The funeral is over, all the well wishers and sympathy goers are gone. The house is empty except for the Curtis boys and myself with the exception of, Darryl or Darry, as he is known to all, He left right after the funeral, heading to the courthouse to deal with my grandmothers will. Her lawyer is going to meet him there, and he will be informed of what would happen to my Grandmothers things and me. I'm sitting on the couch leaning on Sodapop, the middle child of the Curtis family. Ponyboy, the youngest boy, is on the floor reading. All is silent.

"Rachel" Soda whispers to me gently. When I don't reply he tries again. "Rachel, baby are you okay?" It feels weird to be comforted by him. It seems like only yesterday I had been comforting him over the loss of his parents, but in reality it's been almost a year since the accident. But the look of total anguish on his face while mourning stays fresh in my mind to this day.

"Rachel, you there?" Soda asks firmly, shaking me gently to rattle me out of my reverie. Looking over at him, I see his face is a mask of worry from my lack of attention.

I nod gently and smile slightly. I then turn to stare at the wall again, missing the look the two Curtis boys pass between them, a look filled with worry.

My mind is buzzing with thoughts. It is hard to deal with death. It makes you reevaluate your life. That's what Darry once told me, just after the death of his parents. Soda always said that Darry would be in college right now, getting a good education and making something of him. Instead, he is working two backbreaking jobs to support himself and his younger brothers. It breaks my heart that such tragedy could hit such good people. They are good people; there's no question in my mind. They opened their home to all that needed it and fed others when they could barely make ends meet for themselves. I didn't know that first hand, I never went to their house. Not that I hadn't been invited over, but I'm not very social. Other than shopping for food with my grandmother I didn't go out much. Soda is my only friend and that is because we were neighbors and the same age. Pony and Darry are friends I can turn to if I ever need something, but Soda and I are best friends.

Soda often joked that I might as well have grown up with nuns because I didn't have fun. But I've heard all about what happened in the Curtis boys lives, especially Soda. He would sneak out his window at night, even though Darry knew all about it, and tell me all about his day, or week if it had been too busy to stop by. I understood, but all that he told me about were fights with the Socs, how dangerous it was to walk alone even in the daytime, sneaking into the movies, working instead of going to school, keeping everyone out of trouble, and dating. There was always a lot to talk about in that category. But none of it sounds like fun to me. I couldn't fight; I was a good girl. I didn't steal or sneak anywhere. I hardly left the house, but that didn't bother me.

Girls flock to Soda, Socs and Greasers alike, and it was amusing to hear about. Soda would tell me about the date but when he started to go into detail, I would blush like a tomato and shush him. I often thought he did it on purpose, trying to give detail because he knew it embarrassed me. He knew I never had a boyfriend, that I had never been kissed, and had never even seen anyone kiss…well except when my grandparents gave each other pecks on the check.

It was embarrassing to hear about. More than once Soda had tried to set me up with one of his friends. In the end he conceded to leave me alone, knowing that they'd want more than I'd want to give. Soda always said that I was as virginal as one could come.

My grandmother home schooled me; well I had been 'til she died. I was ahead in all of my studies. My grandmother always said it was better to be ahead in case I had to go to public school for some reason. My grandmother never forced me to go to a public school. They tried for a short time when I had first come to live here but it didn't work. I was practically a mute. I mean, there was no physical reason that I couldn't talk, I just stopped talking after I saw my mother die.

That was my big secret. I saw my father kill my mother. I was seven. The memory was somewhat blurred, but I still woke up with nightmares from time to time. It was no secret to the Curtis family though. I was to young to remember it all in detail, but when I slept it came out.

They had been talking and then screaming and the next thing I remember, my grandmother told me I was going to live with her. I guess since I was a young kid when it happened, I got it in my head that talking could get you killed, so I just stopped. Once in a while I'd speak a few words to Soda, Darry or Ponyboy but I didn't have long conversations. They understand. But what if I have to go to a girl's home? What would happen, I don't talk, can defend myself, I'd pretty much be dead. I hope by some miracle that my grandmother worked something out.

My grandmother was without a doubt one of the nicest people in the world, even after my grandfather passed away. She never raised a hand to me and never yelled. When people yelled I would get scared. She always talked to me like I was an adult and my opinion mattered. Even when I was only a child, it made me feel special. She lived to give, always sending food to the Curtis boys, mending there clothes, sending groceries saying she bought it buy mistake and wouldn't use it. Darry knew what she was doing but he never objected after the first time. When I brought them over, he would just smile and ask if I wanted to come in. I would always politely refuse. He would nod in understanding and watch me walk home. It was a system of sorts, but now it's messed up.

My grandparents had lived next to the Curtis' since I had first moved here, it was nice. They were nice. I never understood why some of my grandmother's friends would call them hoods or JD's. I remember asking my grandmother what they meant and she would say they don't have any parents and therefore people think they run wild and do what they please, most Greasers are hoods or JD, the Curtis boys aren't but most are. "They're good boys; their parents raised them right. That's all you need to remember, trust their judgment." Then she would go putter around the kitchen making dinner. Grandma never considered herself a Greaser or low class. Her family had been fairly well to do and she still could be but she always told me she was tired of their attitudes. That's why my grandparents moved to this side of town. Grandma liked it a lot better here. Even with all the things that went on, no one would look down at you.

My clothes were always nice; they were a mix between Socs and middle class. I had the converse high tops, along with the Hail Mary shoes, penny loafers and just regular sneakers. I had jeans that were tight, a present from Soda, Darry and Pony every year since I turned 15, and every occasion from Easter to Labor Day. I had a feeling they stole them or got someone else to, because there were the expensive kind, so I didn't wear them much. I had lose jeans and jean skirts, wool skirts, cotton skirts, and I even had a leather skirt from Darry and Soda that they gave me on April Fools Day telling me to go have fun. I never wore that either. I had sweaters and tee shirts and cardigans galore. I didn't wear revealing or tight fitting clothes because I always felt uncomfortable. Soda always told me I wasn't anything like the other girls.

The screen door cracked and jarred me from my thoughts as Darry walked in. A small feeling of dread built in my stomach, knowing this was the minute of decision. Looking over Darry, I suddenly felt bad. Here I am having a pity party for myself, when Darry was out doing what she should have done. He and Soda had taken off work and Pony skipped school. He'd have to do double shifts now. Darry was attractive, but weary, very weary. He worked all the time, and in any free time he had he was busy looking after his family and gang. He had no time for a social life or fun, and now she had added more to his burden.

"What happened Darry?" Soda asked watching his movements looking for a hint of some kind.

"Well I talked to the lawyer and we went over your grandmothers will. She's given custody of you to me." Darry said with a sigh. Everything just kind of froze while I tried to take in what he had said. Live with the Curtis, they were barely making it as is. And the people that were always coming in and out, oh dear were all that my mind was saying. Suddenly Soda let out a cry of joy and hopped up. Darry smiled at Sodas reaction, and glanced at me for a silent confirmation that I was okay with it. I gave him a nod, what else could I say, there not strangers, I love them like family, so why not. Money was why not. Suddenly Ponyboy cut in to Sodas excitement.

"Darry will we have enough money to take her in were already struggling as is?" Pony said brining Sodas excitement level down. He sat down next to me again and squeezed my hand.

"Darry I can take extra shifts at the DX to help out." Soda quickly cut in.

"No Soda you won't." Darry said raising a hand as Soda was about to object. "Rachel's grandmother was loaded." Soda and Pony looked shocked as they glanced at Darry, once more then looked at me for confirmation, I nodded silently.

"So that means we get all her money?" Soda asked with a goofy grin when Pony slapped him on the head, just as Darry was about to.

"No we don't get all her money, nor do we want it" Darry said sending me an apologetic smile for Sodas words I just smiled I was used to him talking before thinking.

"We do get a check each month to help any finical needs we may be having thanks to her grandmother, god bless her soul." Darry said whispering the last part.

"How much?" Asked Ponyboy. Soda winced at his lack of tact I just smiled slightly.

"You don't need to know. But it will help us out a great deal. We won't be struggling as hard and I can lay back on the hours." Darry said in a thankful voice. Pony smiled at the thought of Darry not working as much, as did Soda. A happy silence filled the room; they were finally getting a brake that they all deserved.

"Okay now here is the other part, they are going to sell the house," Darry said looking at me for my reaction. I had figured as much. At least I would still be near by to the house I grew up in. I nodded in understanding. Soda and Pony just nodded.

"So we need to get you packed and out by Friday, and moved and settled into our house because a social worker is coming over to check on progress. You and pony are excused from school till Monday so Pony you'll be helping her pack and get settled." Darry said switching in to father mode as Soda always called it. Pony's expression was of joy, I figured from not having to go to school till Monday. It was Tuesday now.

"The lawyer gave me a heads up on the social worker because this is what your grandmother really wanted done with you. There will also be surprise visits just to check up on you." Darry said in a light tone, but his face showed lines of worry.

"I got the first check from your grandmother. So you can go to the store and pick out things for your room, maybe we can get Dally or Two bit to drive you." Darry said and I suppose they way Darry sat forward I must have had a worried look on my face at the mention of people.

"Or I can take off and take you." Darry cut in fast. I nodded my head no.

"Its okay if one of them take you then?" Soda asked who had been relatively quiet this hole time. I nodded yes. Soda broke into a grin.

"Well stay here tonight I already ran into Two bit and told him we'd be here and not to come over, or burn the house down. Sodas old room isn't exactly clean enough for you to live in yet. I'll do it tomorrow," said Darry but stopped as I nodded my head no.

"I can do it." I spoke in a whisper shocking all the boys

"You sure, it's not a problem?" Asked Darry and Soda nodded in agreement to the question. I nodded no.

"Okay then lets get to bed it is gonna be a long few days." Darry said once again in father mode.

"Pony and Soda you can take the couch. I'll take the guestroom. I don't think anyone should take her grandmothers room. If that is alright with everyone." Darry said in a tired voice. I realized that if I am going to be living with them I should at least try and talk to them, somewhat. Still shocked that I had spoken for the time that night they all nodded. Pony and Soda ran back to their house to get clothes for tomorrow. Darry drew me into a hug, which caused me to blush, I only liked Darry as a friend but I wasn't used to any kind of attention from the opposite sex, I kept my head low to the ground.

"You know kid that I would have fought for you if your grandmother hadn't given me custody. Right?" I nodded and smiled he was so nice.

"It will be okay kid everything is going to work out. Once the social worker approves you staying with us, there will be some paper work. I'm thinking of renting a storage container for your grandmothers stuff, and anything that doesn't fit in the room." Darry said in a thoughtful voice, I smiled at his consideration.

"This makes you family Rachel. You'll be expected to do choirs and help out around the house. Are you okay with that? Your room isn't much because once Soda moved into Pony's room we kinda got rid of the other furniture for money. So you'll have to pick out a new set. With the money your grandma left you." Darry said in a sheepish voice. I nodded in understanding.

"Well I have to be at work early in the morning as does Soda so I'm going to head to bed. Night." Darry said and once again pulled me into a hug. I blushed once again.

After Darry went into the guestroom, Soda and Pony still weren't back I decided to turn in, maybe do a little packing before bed.

Looking around my room, I suppose I wasn't too sad to see it go. It was a rather bright pink, thanks to my grandmother. She always said Pink is for girls. When I liked blue better. But I couldn't tell my grandma that she had worked so hard.

I decided that I would start packing my clothes. I wondered if I would have room to take them all with me. I didn't want to get rid of any. I wasn't shallow but it was one of the only connections with my mom I had. We both love clothes, grandma has pictures of her outfits she would dress me in. I decided I would make it work, somehow. I pulled my suitcase out and began to pack I picked out outfits for the rest of the week and left them out. About an hour later I was half way done with my clothes but I needed more room. I wondered down the hall to my grandmother's room and took her suitcase. I once again worked on filling it with shoes and the rest of my clothes. Once that was done I headed to bed too sleepy to do anything else.

The sun filtered threw the blinds gently caressing my skin, motivating me to wake up and start the day. Glancing around my room I was momentarily puzzled but the suitcases until the events of the last few nights came back to me. I was going to be living with the Curtis's. The hot spot of the East Side, I was going to suffocate. Shaking my head free of those negative thoughts I peeked out my door making sure Pony was still sleeping, the gathered my clothes for the day and went to take a shower and get ready.  
After my shower I walked into the leaving room dressed and primed to face the day. Pony was on the couch reading again. He looked up and he heard me, and smiled lightly. I motioned to the kitchen in a silent question of breakfast he nodded and followed me in. I searched threw the fridge and pulled out bacon and eggs. He nodded thankfully and began reading again.

As I watched the eggs cook I also watched him. He was quiet, quieter than before the fire. It seemed so long ago that Johnny and Pony killed that boy from the west side. But in reality it had only been about a month. Pony and Johnny had both gotten off on self-defense. I remember how relieved Soda had been. The night of the rumble, Johnny had almost died, but was able to be resuscitated. But not before Dallas Winston Had thought he died, and ran. He robbed a store and got shot, but didn't die. He just has really cool bullet marks in his stomach Soda says. I told him I take his word when he tried to convince me to come over and see them. Johnny couldn't walk, but the doctors said there was a chance if he did his therapy. Somehow, know one is sure just how his parents got the money to send him their tiwce a week.

Pony and me ate our breakfast in silence. Since I don't talk and he didn't feel like it, so silence was the best option. After breakfast was cleaned we headed over to his house so I could look at my room and see what needed to be done. Entering the house I realized it was my first time in there. I looked around and it was messy but homey. But it could defiantly use a woman's touch I thought to myself as I followed Pony down the hall.

"Your room is right across the hall from mine and Sodas." Pony said "And that door next to ours leads to the bathroom, and the one at the end of the hall is Darry's room." Pony finished with the verbal tour. We opened the door to my new room. I was shocked. I was used to cleanness and this had dust and cobwebs all over the walls the windows were covered in dirt and grim, the carpet was at one time a blue but now looked blacker. This was going to take a lot of work I said to myself.

"Sorry no ones been in hear for a while and even when Soda did live in it he wasn't very clean." Suddenly he glanced at his watch.

"Look I know I told Darry and Soda I would stay and help but I promised Johnny I'd go see him today before his dad gets home and maybe bring him here. Is that all right? Do you want to come with?" Pony asked me. I shook my head know.

"Yea I figured" Was his reply, "I will be back before Darry and Soda, don't worry" Pony said as he walked out of the room. "Just watch TV till I get back." The screen door shut. Yea right I thought to myself, like I am going to watch TV when this room needs so much work.

I looked in the Kitchen for carpet cleaner but I guess they don't clean their carpets. So I went to my house and got some cleaning supplies, and changed into work clothes. Then I headed back into my room, and started scrubbing the carpet. Four hours later it was getting dark and I had finally finished, I was exhausted. But you could see the carpet; it was a pretty royal blue, slightly faded but still pretty. Pony still wasn't home and Soda would be home soon if he came straight home. I decided to wait on the couch for him. I must have fell asleep the next thing I know I'm being woken by Darry.

"Where is Pony?" He asked in a slightly raised voice, I flinched back, he noticed and softened his voice.

"He was suppose to stay with you today." Darry said in explanation.

"He went to visit Johnny, around noon." I said in a very small voice and I suddenly noticed that it was not just Darry and I in the room but Soda and three other guys. I tensed up suddenly only Darry and Soda noticed.

"Hey Rachel you wanna meet my friends?" Soda asked sounding like an idiot.

"I don't think she has much of a choice now." Said the one with dark hair wearing the same uniform as Soda.

"Hi, I'm Steve" He said and move to make his way closer to me but was stopped by Soda trying to be discreet in saying no. Only everyone saw it, I was embarrassed I started to blush.

"Awe a blushing virgin" Said the one in Mickey mouse shirt and began laughing at his own joke. Thinking it was funny until he looked around and saw no one else laughing he looked back at my blush getting deeper and my bowed head and I saw his eyes wide in realization. I would have laughed but I was mortified.

"Sorry, I'm Two-Bit" he said in an apologetic tone as Darry slapped him upside the head. The others waited a few moments for the other guy to introduce himself but he didn't, I looked up at the guy who had yet to say his name but I had a feeling it was Dallas Winston. The way Soda described him was hard to miss. I felt naked under his gaze I quickly lowered my head again. Darry seeing that Dally wasn't making an effort in introducing himself to me.

"This here is Dallas Winston, But he goes by Dally." Darry said moving to stand beside Dally. I nodded my head slightly to them all. An awkward silence descended over the occupants of the room I blushed again for making it awkward.

"So what did you do today?" Darry asked coming to my rescue

"I cleaned the carpet." I said in a whisper telling myself I had to be social or I'd never make it.

"The one in your room?" Soda asked then smacked his forehead for being so dumb. I nodded.

"Well lets go see it" Said Darry. And he headed towards the room followed by Soda I quickly got up not comfortable being in a room with strangers and followed. When everyone was in the room not saying anything it was again awkward.

"Wow its blue, I always thought it was black." Soda said trying to break the silence. I smiled at him.

"You did a great job" Said Darry the others nodded trying to be nice, except Dally he just stood there then suddenly like he could feel me watching him looked over. Shocked to be caught starting I made an ePP noise and ducked my head. Soda laughed.

"Guys she's shy. Don't worry Rachel you'll get comfortable soon." Soda said

"Hopefully" I heard Dally mutter.

"I think I am going to go back to my house and pack." I said quickly and hurried out of the room.

"Bye" I said as I walked out the door. Almost running home.

I entered my house and slammed the door. Stupid, stupid, stupid I kept telling myself. I'm an idiot. Not fit to join the human race. They looked at me like I was an alien. Oh and now they all know I'm a virgin. Not like they would not have been able to figure it out, I reasoned with myself. I walked back to my room, comparing the size of my new room to my old one. It was close to the same size. It had enough space for a bed, dresser, closet and nightstand. I would be fine I told myself. I think I'll just take my old bedroom set with me instead of wasting money. I got my nightclothes together and went to the bathroom, it was odd being here alone, kind of creepy. I felt dirty from all that cleaning, I needed a shower.

**Darry's POV (While Rachel is in the shower)**

"So what do you guys think of her?" Soda asked as they all were sitting around the living room. No one spoke for a few moments.

"She's not going to make it, if she doesn't change." Said Dally surprising us all. Though the statement was mean, we all nodded out heads in agreement.

"She'll be fine, we'll keep her safe." Said Soda convincingly, though I couldn't tell if he was saying it for us or for himself.

"She's real quiet. How come I never saw her at school?" Two-bit asked.

"She was home schooled." I said I was about to say more when Dally laughed. Not a humored laugh but a cold and bitter laugh that could give the toughest man chills.

"Your telling me that our brining a broad who barely talks, can't fight, practically a fucking nun, and never went to public school into your house. What are you crazy or just plain dumb?" Dally asked as he lit. a cigarette.  
"What do you mean?" Asked Soda not quiet understanding where this was going

"We're greasers, hoods, JD, we're suppose to be able to defend ourselves, she can't. We all know that if a soc gets her she would be raped or worse. She's not even comfortable around you guys and you're the nicest greasers there are," Dally put up a hand two stop Two-bit, Steve and Soda from objecting. "Well your not like Shepherd and his gang are you?" Dally questioned mockingly They all sighed knowing he had a point. It was time to intervene.

"Listen I get what you're saying, I don't know why you're saying it to us and not her but I get it." I told Dally trying to figure out why he hadn't just spat this in her face like he did to others. I'd think on it later.

"But we can't let her go to a girls home, and become a ward of the state. You think the soc's eat her alive what about the girls in those places you should know Dally, you've been in them." I told everyone but mostly directed at Dally. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, his face was indifferent, but I knew he got my point.

"At least here she has people who can protect her. She doesn't go out much," I said

"Hardly ever" Soda said interrupting Darry

"So its not like she's going to become a party animal like Two-bit" Darry said getting a laugh from everyone, except Dally, who just sat there coolly smoking his weed.

"We'll just have to ease her into things. First you guys, then school. She won't be starting for about a month. They have to place her with tests and they want to wait till the new semester is what the social services said." Darry finished.

"Yea so well just have to be real careful with her. She doesn't talk much. I think she's trying and that's why she talked today. She's not totally hopeless." Soda said,

"Why doesn't she talk?" Asked Two-bit, Soda looked at me for confirmation to say, I gave it but only because I don't want a repeat of the virgin thing.

"Okay this doesn't go farther than this room, and if by some chance she tells you then act surprised. She was seven and her parents were talking and then fighting and it got really bad, I mean things being thrown. They woke up Rachel so she went and peeked into there room. At first she thought it was just a normal fight. But then her mom said something really bad, and her dad smacked her hard against the face. Rachel said she heard the bones crack. Well I guess he was in a rage and he beat her to death with his own hands while Rachel stood there and watched." Soda said in a serious voice the story surprised them all even Dally had a little bit of shock on his face, until he saw me watching him, then he just sneered and turned away.

"What happened to her dad?" Two-bit asked in one of the first serious voices I'd hadn't heard from him since my parents died.

"He took a gun out of the dresser drawer and shot himself in the head. The police were called by a neighbor and they found her laying next to her mom, begging her to get up." Soda said and then suddenly shook his head, like he was trying to get the mental picture from his mind.

"She still has nightmares; she gets scared at even the slightest raise of a voice. And since her parents started out talking she's always afraid they it will happen to her. That's why she's not in public school she doesn't talk, she not comfortable around people there unpredictable." I finished for Soda then we all just sat in silence.

**Back to Rachel's POV (after the shower)**

Looking in the slightly fogged mirror wasn't a happy time. I had bags under my eyes, not noticeable with makeup but uncovered made me look hideous. I had Blonde hair. It was silky, that's the only feature on my body that I can actually be proud of. My nose was small, my lips were pouty and I had green eyes. Now normally when you hear that you think, hot. But not with me, it was just awkward. And hideous there were time I could think I was gorgeous then other times I'd cover up the mirror in my room, to hide myself. My teeth were straight for the most part but there were certain ones that could be straighter and of course I had to pick at my every fault its no wonder I didn't get out much. The worst part of me is my weight. I wasn't skinny, but I wasn't fat, I was in the middle. I weighed about 150. And of course I didn't look it too much because I was 5'6. Not very tall to some but to me it was my saving grace. I was fat, Plain and simple. But thank god it was spread out evenly well as evenly as a fat person can get.

Soda always says he'd date me if it weren't for the fact we took baths together when my grandma watched him and pony. I can say that I am glad I never got a crush on Soda. That would have probably ended our friendship. I know he'd never like me, I'm just not pretty enough. I've seen in passing glance the girls he 'dates' and they're all gorgeous. I used to have a crush on Darry when I was younger but who wouldn't at one time or another. But as much as I thought I liked him, I never had those feelings that Soda always talked about. How he was attracted to this girl so much he could feel it in his stomach, it made his chest tighten. I just want to feel the bone shattering feeling at least one though it probably won't be returned I just want to know what all the fuss is about. Enough of this I thought as I got dressed for bed. I needed a good night's sleep I still had a lot to do tomorrow.

I was in the kitchen making myself some warm milk when someone banged on my door. I walked over hesitantly not sure who it would be; I was alone in the house. I peered out cautiously but it was too dark to see. I opened the door slightly and in walks Dallas Winston. I was flat out shock to say the least. He walked in and I closed the door. I just stood there in shock watching him pace in my living room, feeling very intimidated and scared. Suddenly he turned from pacing and walked right up to me looked me up and down then started pacing again. I was becoming even more scared and nervous, The Curtis wouldn't hang out with him if he were seriously like psycho killer dangerous. Right? I reasoned with myself. Why was he here? He kept walking up to me, then turning around growling in frustration, and then he would begin pacing again. This went on for a while. Then just when I was contemplating running to the Curtis's he turned to me once more and walked directly to me.

"Here's how things are gonna be, kid" He said in such a serious voice I got chills

"Your not going anywhere with out a greaser one of ours, not Shepherd's or Burmly's, you dig?" he asked but I didn't understand what I was digging. He must have saw that because he let out a huge frustrated sigh.

"It means you understand?" he said I nodded that I did understood.

"Good because soc's and some greasers alike wouldn't hesitate to hurt a pretty little thing like you." he said and I blushed and he cursed so I blushed some more.

"You gotta stop doing that," he said with a wave of a hand, I looked at him confused.

"The blushing like a virgin" I gave him a incredulous look.

"I know, I know you're a virgin but if that gets out you'll be in deep shit" I blushed again and he cursed again.  
"Them over there" he pointed to the Curtis house "are the nicest greasers you'll meet," he said seriously.  
"Anyone else if you alone your screwed" he said

"You heard about Pony and" he paused "Johnny" he said with a slight look of pain about uttering the name. I nodded

"There two guys and you know what happened there. You're just a girl." He said I didn't understand why the scary Dallas Winston was telling me all this and not Soda or Darry. He must have been a mind reader.

"Darry and Soda don't know I'm here. They are going to tell you the but not like I am. There gonna come up with some lame excuse, there gonna sugar coat it. While I'm telling you the cold hard facts. You walk alone you'll probably end up dead." I went pale and I stared at his face to find some hint of humor, there was none.

"Jesus would you stop that?" he yelled I froze

"Shit I didn't mean to yell" He said running his hands threw his hair in frustration I thought he was going to pull it out. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette I was about to say that my grandma would get mad, but she wasn't around anymore, so I bite my tongue. I guess he saw my face.

"This okay?" he asked though it looked like he would light it up either way so I nodded yes. He lit it and took a big breath then his face relaxed. It was odd I'd never seen anyone smoke before.

"You just gotta be careful or you won't make it. If you go acting like your innocent chances are your won't stay that way for long." he said taking another puff

"You ever dated?" I shook my head no. "You ever been kissed?" I nodded no again and he swore.

"You ever seen a guy naked?" he asked but looked like he knew the answer already. I vigorously shook my head no, and blushed deeper.

"You ever been to the Dingo or Jays?" he asked taking a drag once again. I shook my head no.  
"Fuck" he said. I blushed red.

"I gotta get out of here." and he left. I stood there in shock. The front door wide open. My thoughts were racing I didn't understand why he came. Then suddenly my name was called sharply.

"Rachel" said Darry and Soda

"What's the door doing wide open." Soda asked as they walked threw the door

"Is that cigar smoke?" Darry asked worried

"Your smoking?" Soda asked incredulously

I shook my head no, they gave me a doubtful look.

"Dallas Winston was just hear." I said calmly. They swore I blushed

"Sorry" they said then in a rush the were asking questions

"What did he want?" Asked Soda

"Why was he here?" Asked Darry

"Did he touch you?" Asked Soda

"Where is he?" Asked Darry

"What did he say?" Asked Soda

"Are you sure he didn't touch you?" Asked Darry

"Are you alright?" Asked Soda I held up my hand to silence them

"He just told me not to go anywhere without on of you guys. Because he said I wouldn't stay innocent for long if the soc's or certain greasers found me." I said calmly. Mentally I was congratulating my self on talk for the third time that day.

"Oh" said Darry.

"We were just coming to tell you the same thing." said Soda

"Are you hungry?" asked Darry I shook my head no.

"Well Pony says sorry he didn't come back like he said" I nodded okay but didn't miss the uneasy look that they passed between each other.

"Two-bit, you remember him, right? Asked Soda I nodded yes.

"He's going to help you tomorrow" Said Darry I gave them both a confused look

"Pony didn't know how much he missed school until today." Lied Soda, I knew he was lying Darry and Soda both knew he was lying, but I let it slide.

"So when do you want to so shopping for a new bed set?" asked Darry

"Cause one of us will take you. Two-bit can be kind of forward about stuff like that." Said Soda

"So just let one of use know, okay?" Asked Darry I shook my head no, they looked confused.

"You mean you want to go bed shopping with Two-bit?" soda asked and Darry slapped his head.

"No I think I am just going to keep the bed set I have no. It will save money." I said again mentally congratulating myself on speaking. Seeing that Darry was about to objet I held up my hand.

"My decision is final." I said and then laughed at the seriousness of my voice. Instantly there faces lit up.

"I haven't heard you laugh in so long" Spoke Soda and Darry nodded in agreement. I smiled politely.

"Well we have to be in bed early tonight for work." Darry said and Soda nodded. Both walked over and gave me a hug.

"Sleep tight, do you want me to stay?" asked soda. I nodded shyly looking anywhere but at him.

"Okay, no problem." He said with a light laugh.

"Night Darry" Soda said and I waved.

"Night Soda" I said

"Night Rachel" and we both went to bed, Soda in the guestroom and me in my room.

**Darry's POV (trying to fall asleep) Flashback to earlier that day.**

"Dally" I said before he could leave. Him stopping was the only acknowledgment that he heard me.

"What was that about in there?" I asked referring to the way he talked about Rachel

"What was what?" Dally said with a sneer his eyes colder than ice

"I've only seen you act that way with Johnny" I stated and saw him flinch back at the name.

"Yea so?" He asked

"She's not Johnny" I said with conviction

"No she's not is she." He said with contempt

"I know her. She'll be fine. She won't turn out like Johnny." Again I noticed the slight flinch at the name.

"You don't know her Dally." I said with conviction

"Your right I don't. But I know Johnny." He said and walked off into the darkness before I could stop him.

I stood there for what seemed like forever after he walked off. Still I was unsure of his interest in Rachel. Dally's interest in anybody is never a good sign. But another side is he will protect her. We all know that he feels that he failed Johnny. He won't go visit him, doesn't want to see disappointment. But every time anyone visits Johnny he asks about Dally, a spark lit in his eyes. Then it leaves when he doesn't show. When did life get so complicated? Maybe Dally sees Johnny in Rachel, after all he knows Johnny best maybe a little of what Johnny has is in Rachel and called out to Dally, as Johnny did. Just as I was about to head back in I noticed someone heading towards the house. As they got closer I realized it was Pony. My anger from earlier renewed as he stepped up on the porch.

"Where the hell have you been?" I asked Pony he tried to shrug me of as if it was no big deal.

"Why did you leave Rachel alone?" I asked grasping his shirt again he shrugged like it was nothing.

"Answer me dammit." I yelled in his face

"I don't like her" he mumbled I stood back in shock

"Why the hell not?" I asked in exasperation

"She's to needy." He said with a shrug looking everywhere but at me, I grabbed his shirt once again.

"I can't believe I'm related to such a piece of shit" I said in anger

"She has no siblings like you, no friends like you, so hell yes she's gonna be needy but she won't always be.You left her here, and she doesn't even understand you did it in spite of the fact you don't like her, she thought you were running late. She doesn't know the world. And you, you do, mom and dad would be disappointed in you little bro, they loved Rachel, she's family." I said my voice deflating from the murderous rage I felt in the beginning to the sad disappointment that was growing in my stomach.

"Get to bed, your going to school tomorrow." I said and could have smacked him when he gave me a look of why?

"You didn't think I was gonna let you stay off, the whole reason you got off school was to help Rachel, but your not so your going back to school." I said and walked back into the house. It was considerable quiet which means the heard it all.

"Two-bit" I said my body growing weary from the day's activities

"Yea Darry" He said looking up from the TV

"You busy tomorrow?" I asked sitting in my chair

"Na, why?" he asked taking a big swig of beer.

"You wanna stay here with Rachel and help if she needs it?" I asked

"Sure" he said seriously without hesitation I nodded my thanks to him

"Hey Dar you know she's pretty cute..." Two- bit said jokingly I could hear a smack on the head from the other room.

"Touch he and you won't be touching much else" Soda warned I smiled everything would be fine I thought to myself. We'd take care of her.

**End Flashback**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders.

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The next few days were a blur. There was just so much to do before Friday. I finished cleaning my room and I started painting it a nice dark blue, and I was willing to stay up and paint it but Darry sent my home to my grandmothers to pack up her things. He stayed up late into the night finishing it for me. I hadn't seen Dally since that night, he hasn't been around the Curtis's at least when I'm there. Pony was scares to I haven't seen him since he left for Johnny's my first day. I think Darry and Soda wanted it that way. I'm not really sure. I tried asking the Soda why Dally had come over that night, but all he said was no one knows what goes threw his mind and Darry had just nodded.

Today was Judgement day. The social worker would be coming by, later on that evening. Soda said all of the gang were band from coming until Saturday. Which was probably best. There is still so much to do Darry and Soda both took off work. Darry's been packing the boxes of my grandmother's things into the truck, and then he's going to move them to a storage place he rented. When Darry gets back soda and I am going to the grocery store to buy food for tonight for dinner. Because no one is sure how long the social worker is going to be staying.

While at the general store Soda seemed to be taking a long time. He was walking slow, slow in making decisions, he wasn't acting right, but I figured there had to be a reason, I'd just wait to find out. The trip should have only taken about 30 min. taken almost two hours. By the time we were walking home he was joking around like normal I was so frustrated. We still had to move my bedroom set and clothes into my new room and make sure my grandmother's home was empty, and start to cook dinner. With all that to do soda decides that he's gonna be a moody slow poke I could have hit him. But I didn't last time I attempted to hit him I sprain my wrist, and he said it tickled.

Arriving back at the Curtis's, my new home, I could see that Darry ad been busy the grass had been mowed, the porch was cleaned up, I couldn't wait to see the inside.

"Steve and Two- Bit are over helping Pony and Darry" Soda said as if he saw my train of thoughts, I looked up at him questioningly.

"After they are done helping they are not allowed back till Saturday. But knowing them they'll try to stop over tonight." Soda said with a grin as we were walking up the front steps.

"Why don't you go and start dinner and I'll go see what the guys are doing." I nodded my head and headed towards the kitchen.

Glancing at the food we bought I was glad I had made the final decision. Soda had wanted green mashed potato's with chocolate cake, and nothing else. So I decided on meatloaf and mashed potato's with corn. It was going to be a good meal. It had to be for the social worker.

I was just finishing placing the meatloaf in the oven when Darry entered the kitchen looking tired and dirty for all the work he'd done today.

"Mmm, smell good in here. What are you making?" Darry asked as he washed his hands in the kitchen sink.

"Meatloaf, mashed potato's and corn, with chocolate cake for dessert." I said quietly with a grin thinking of Soda's horrified expression when I said no chocolate cake. Darry's smile got bigger when I spoke.

"Well come on I gotta show you something" Darry said tugging on my arm, pulling me away from pealing the potato's.

"What?" I asked in a whisper

"I can't tell you it's a surprise." Said Darry with a grin

"Now come on." He said walking out of the kitchen I followed wonder what was going on. Darry lead me to my new bedroom and the said "close your eyes" I did as I was told I didn't have time for games and neither did they what about moving my stuff into my room that still needed to be done.

Darry turned the knob and guided me inside; the fresh paint smell surrounded me. "Open your eyes" Darry said. I did and I gasped. My room they had finished it. My bed and dresser was there it was a copy of the room in my grandmother's house except the walls and floor was blue. I almost started to cry. Soda, Steve and Two-bit grinned at me. Soda walked up and gave me a hug.

"Don't worry about thanking us we wanted to do it." Soda whispered in my ear, I smiled into his shoulder

"Where's my hug?" Two-bit asked right before Steve slapped him on the head. I giggled softly.

"Okay guys we still have a lot to do and only an hour to do it. Rachel why don't go take a shower and get ready, I'll watch the food." I nodded to happy to object or to notice that Pony was absent for the happy occasion.

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Darry POV (Rachel in the shower)

I had lied when I said we had a lot to do. We'd been rushing all morning and had almost everything done thankfully. I sent Steve and Soda to go get Pony at Johnny's I didn't trust him to come home when I said, he really doesn't like Rachel I don't understand why.

I was watching the food, more staring off into space when Two-Bit entered and sat across from me. I didn't feel like talking but obviously he did. I looked over at him expectantly. He sighed.

"What's up with Ponyboy why ain't he here?" Two-bit asked seriously. He's been way to serious as of late I feel as though it's my fault.

"I'm not sure he don't like her, his excuse she's to needed" I told him with a frown

"Well duh she's gonna be needy she don't know no body or how the world works, you can't just expect her to be one of us right away. Damn that kids real thick sometimes." Two-bit said I couldn't help but wonder if he was always this smart and we never noticed or if it's a one-time thing.

"I think it has something to do with Johnny" I said and glanced over at him Two-Bit looked thoughtful, not a expression I was used to coming from him.

"Makes since if you think about it Johnny was needy, and him and Pony were best friends and look what happened. Maybe he just doesn't wanna get hurt again. You know him and Dally blame themselves but there was nothing either of them coulda done." Two-bit said.

I sat in shock. Wow I had definitely underestimated him. I feel like a real dumb ass. Here Two-bit is having a intelligent conversation with me, one I didn't know he was capable of having I feel like a soc. One who think all greasers are dumb as wood. God this wasn't my week.

"True" I said after a moment

"But Dally's got some kind of interest in Rachel, and I'm not sure what that interest is. That worries me. A lot" I said with a deep frown

"Old Dally won't hurt her, Well hopefully not. He just might think this is a way to redeem himself for what happened with Johnny." Two-Bit said

"Yea that's along the lines of what I was thinking, but what if is interest is more than 'brotherly'?" I asked. Not sure when in this conversation we switched roles.

"Then we'll handle it when it comes. He isn't gonna go and do nothing stupid. It would be like cornering a scared lion. He wouldn't get anywhere. Don't worry we all like her, we all will take care of her. Its not sole your responsibility." Two-bit said.

Then we just sat in silence contemplating everything that had just been said. Until someone cleared there throat hesitantly. We both looked up, and gaped.

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Rachel's POV

I walked into the kitchen but only Two-Bit and Darry were there, and they looked deep in thought. I was hesitant to disrupt them but Darry needed to get cleaned up. I cleared my throat, their heads snapped up and they looked at me like an alien, again. Great I must look terrible. I suppose my disappointment showed on my face cause Tow-Bit quickly cut in.

"You look hot" Two-Bit spoke with a grin, then Darry slapped him in the back of his head I giggled, and blushed at the words said to me.

"You look great Rachel" Darry said with a small smile "Well I'm going to go get cleaned up. Two-bit you're welcome to stay. Try anything and I'll brake your hand." Darry warned and then walked down the hall to his room. I laughed silently.

I didn't do anything different to my appearance. Oh wait I no. All week I'd been in either funeral clothes of work clothes, my hair up in a bandanna. Tonight I had my blonde hair down I was wearing my light blue cardigan with my dark blue jean skirt and my Mary Jane's. I laughed silently at Two-bit's still dumb found look. I waited to see if he'd say anything else. When he didn't I began pealing potato's again, the meatloaf had about 15 more min. I was just finishing cutting the potato's up when Soda and Pony walked in. Pony headed right back to his and Sodas room. I gave a questioning look to Soda who gave a look to Two-bit then back to me and he shrugged. Glancing at the clock, I began to panic. The social worker would be here in like 10 min. and dinner wasn't ready, Soda and Pony weren't cleaned up and Two-bit was still here. I pointed to the clock and Soda did a double take then hurried to his room.

I had just finished mashing the potato's when Darry came out all cleaned up.

"I'll set the table" Two-bit said

"I'll starting bringing the food over." Said Darry

I started making up the chocolate cake mix. I was putting it into the oven when Soda and a very grumpy Ponyboy came out all cleaned up. Just as someone knocked on the door. Everyone but Pony, whom kept his head down, glanced nervously at each other and than at Two-bit.

"Two-Bit go out the back door." Soda whispered urgently. Two- bit practically ran, we all heard the door open then close then a big thump, as if he had tripped. If it weren't such a serious situation I would have laughed.

"I'll get the door," Darry said with such a heavy voices that you would think he was meeting his death, which in a way it could be.

I nervously began to pit pat around the kitchen. I checked on the cake, covered the food on the table. Straightened my hair and pulled down my skirt. I heard Darry open the door and welcome the social worker I glanced at Soda and he tried to give me a reassuring smile. It didn't do much but at least I wasn't the only one worried.

--------

Later that night after the social worker left we all breathed a huge sigh of relief, well everyone except Pony he just glared and walked away. All I wanted to do was settle down and sleep, but Darry had other plans.

"Pony, get back here and do the dishes." Darry said Pony came back stomping I couldn't understand why he was so upset.

"Rachel, Soda and I are going to go threw her Grandmothers House one more time before we close it up. When we get back I want those dishes done. Then do your homework." Darry said

"But Darry, its Friday." Pony said "I already couldn't go anywhere because of her. " He spit it out like I was the worst person ever. What had I done? I saw Soda ready to hit him, but Darry spoke first.

"Soda take Rachel over a while. I gotta talk to Pony I'll meet you there." Darry said his voice with a hint of steel to it that made me shiver. Soda took my hand and led me out the door, still upset about what pony had said.

-------

Darry (POV)

"Pony what has gotten into you?" I asked and couldn't figure out if I was more upset or confused. The only answer I got from him was a 'whatever' shrug. I slammed my hand on the counter. "Dammit, Pony what's wrong with you? What do you have against Rachel? You guys have always been okay. So what changed? Don't give me that shit about her being to needed, you didn't stay long enough for her to be needed." I said I was really becoming pissed off.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Pony said trying to put all his concentration on the dishes.

"That's bull and you know it. You can't say something like that then not expect to explain yourself." I said. Watching for a reaction from him I got nothing.

"Damn Pony I thought mom and dad raised you better." I said It was a low blow and I new it but if he was gonna act like a drama queen then to hell with it all. "Pony you gotta tell me what's going on, we can't keep living like this, it's shitty and it's only her first full day here." I said and sighed in frustration.

"Well then call social services and get them to take her. Then everything will go back to normal." Pony said. My jaw dropped who was this kid? Where was my baby brother?

"Yea well that ain't gonna happen because if they take one of you then they're gonna take you all. So if you really wanna go to a boy home, let me know and I'll call. But other than that get used to it because Rachel's apart of this family now. Got it?" I asked staring him in the eye.

"Darry I don't wanna go to a boys home. " He said his voice horse

"I know that Pony, but you gotta get over whatever problem you have with Rachel. Or you both will be heading to homes. Got that? You don't gotta be her best friend, just be civil, if you got nothing civil to say then don't say shit. Savvy? I asked praying this would work

"Yea I get it." Pony said

"Okay good I gotta go over and me Soda and Rachel, finish the dishes and start on your homework." I said as I started walking out the front door.

"Bye" He said

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Rachel (POV)

"Soda is Pony alright?" I asked as he led me down the front steps and over to my old house.

"Yea, he…he's fine just a little moody. He didn't mean no harm with what he said. "Soda said with a half-grin

"You sure? He's not mad at me or nothing right?" I asked

"No he's just stressed over Johnny getting better." Soda said

"Oh, that's why he was late the other night." I said more as a statement then a question.

"Y..yea that's right, Johnny was making progress and he didn't want to leave right away. The time just slipped by." Soda said I had a feeling he was only telling me half of the true but, I trusted him to tell me what I needed to know so I didn't say anything.

**Authors Note:** Let me just tell you I have the worst trouble with beta. I get one and then they can't do it anymore. Men oh man lol. So if anyone is interested in being a beta, I have plenty of stories and chapters I need help with. Even if you can only do one chapter so something please. **This is me begging** lol. –on knees- Anyway if you have **anything** you really want to see in the story feel free to let me know. **Thank you for all the reviews. **I'll get into individual thanks next chapter. Oh but keep reviewing they help my motivation, Also this chapter hasn't been beta. SO sorry in advance for any errors.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own the Outsiders.

Yes I know Pony is out of character. He'll be better in the next few chapters and all will be explained.

So my beta hasn't got back to me with the edited chapter but I have to go away for a week so I'm just going to put it up. Then I'll post the edited on when I get it.

The next morning when I woke up I couldn't help but feel a little relived. We had passed the social workers first visit. Now all we had to do was make an appearance in the courthouse so the judge could make his final decision and pass guardianship to Darry. So I guess that's one hurdle jumped and another one to go. I didn't really have anything planned for today. Darry and Soda were at work and wouldn't be home till after dark and Pony was at school. Soda had mentioned that Two-Bit might pop around and wanted to make sure I was all right with it. Saying that he'd tell Two-Bit to wait till they got home to come over. Even though I wasn't over excited at the idea of being alone with a boy I said I was. I might be family and living with them but I didn't have the right to try and change things, not that I wanted to. I just wanted to blend into their lives and not cause any ruckus.

Last night I had gone to bed with a promise in my head. I promised myself I would try to be normal. Try to talk more. I knew it was something I had to over come. I could see the way Darry and Soda and even Two-Bit at times would glance at me and then each other when I would reply non-verbally. I knew they were worried I wouldn't fit in or something bad would happen to me. I didn't want to cause them any more stress. They finally got a break with money thanks to my grandmother. Though the thought made me sad. It seemed the only way my grandmother could help them was with her death. I didn't want to add another worry to their lives. I knew they didn't like what Dally had to say and they weren't glad that he said it to me the way he did. But I know in the back of their minds that its there and they never forget it. I have to adapt even though I'd rather not. They are my family now and families help one another and I was going to help them by not adding anymore worries to there already burdened shoulders.

I got dressed and showered and before leaving the bath room I just stood and looked at myself once again in the mirror. I didn't understand Two-Bit's comment last night, "You look hot." He was probably just saying that to make me think of anything else but the visit with the social worker. I'd heard of Two-Bit's reputation with the ladies. Well sort of, I had heard Soda mention it a time or too. Not that I wanted to be hot for Two-Bit I didn't want to be hot for anyone. Except maybe Dally. Oh I didn't just think that. I glanced up into the mirror and I saw myself blushing. The other night he seemed really concerned for me. Or maybe he was just warning me so I didn't cause the Curtis any more trouble. I think I need my head checked. I don't even know what hotness looks like but I can tell that I'm not it. I can't wait for Soda to get home I really need to talk to someone. I knew this was a bad idea. I knew deep down that I wasn't meant for the world. I'm barely around people for a full week and already I think the most dangerous JD is well I'm not sure. But whatever it is, its only gonna hurt me in the end.

The rest of the day I just kinda wondered around the house Two-bit stopped over and ate some cake then left and then came back again. I didn't really know what to do. I was at a loss. When I was home with my grandmother we'd be doing school at this time of the day, but I don't start school for another month. I kept thinking about Dally. I knew no good would come from me having thoughts about him. Two-Bit came around again and I needed to get out of the house. Which was crazy. I never wanted to leave my old house. I was always content. I could tell I had already started to change. I'm not sure I like this change.

"Hey doll you hear?" I heard Two-bit say as he came threw the door.

"Yes, I am in the Kitchen." I said and he walked in.

"What's doing?" He asked plopping himself at the table.

"Can we go to the store?" I asked and could tell that I threw him off by asking him to leave the house.

"Yea we can, watcha need?" he asked

"I wanted to get some fabric. I was thinking of making some new curtains." I said looking at the old ones.

"Yea sure kid whatever you want. You got money cause I never really picture you the stealing type…" He trailed off as he saw my expression.

"I would never ever do something like that." I told him feeling tears prickle at the corners of my eyes. I hadn't even fully adapted and already people were thinking I was a thief. I missed my grandma. Why'd she have to leave? I didn't like this at all.

"Calm down Rachel it's alright I was just playing." Tow-Bit said concerned. Which was new for me cause you don't see him serious very often.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to over react. I'm just not used to it." I said feeling my face heat, which was a sure sign I was blushing.

Two-Bit just laughed it off. Thank God.

"It's cool sometimes I forget but soon you won't be able to tell your anything different." Two-Bit said. Standing up.

"You ready?" He asked I nodded yes, I thought I saw his eyes widen a bit at my lack of verbal response as I went to get my jacket.

On the walk to the store I was silent cursing my self. Not actually using those words, of course. I knew Two-Bit had meant to reassure me with his "soon you won't be able to tell your anything different" comment. But inside that had scared me. I didn't want to be anyone else. I had always been happy for me. I knew that if I changed it would relieve everyone. But I couldn't help but wonder would anyone other than me miss the old me?

By the time we were on our way back from the store I was exhausted mentally mostly. The whole trip I had been arguing with myself. Trying to calm my fears. It wouldn't do anyone any good if I had a panic attack. As we were walking back I say a group of guys that we would have to pass by. As we got closer I realized that Dally was with them. Only they weren't all guys. There was a girl with him and they looked to be attached at the face. Only I knew that wasn't right because I'd met Dally and he was fine. This must be what kissing was. Though I didn't understand how they were breathing. Their hands were moving all over each other. I felt as though someone had just knocked the wind out of me. I must have stopped and stood still because all of the sudden Two-Bit was walking towards me.

"Hey, Rachel, look at me are you all right?" He asked but I didn't look at him my gaze was focused on Dally and what had to be a hot girl. I could feel tears start to prickle in my eyes for the second time that day. I wasn't ready for this. I knew I felt something more for Dally and in a way I accepted that nothing would happen but I didn't need to see it. Finally I nodded yes and we began to walk again.

"Hey don't worry about them. We'll just cruise by them. If they stop us look at anything but them. Okay?" He asked

I nodded yes once again. I didn't have the energy or will to reply out loud.

Then we continued on. We were almost past them when they noticed us.

"Hey Two-Bit" One voice said

"Who's the broad" another said

"What's doing?" Another voice said

I began fidgeting. I wasn't used to men. Especially not this many. I kept my gaze locked on my mary-jane's. When I felt someone watching me I glanced up to find some of the guys looking at me. Quickly I glanced back down not wanting them to see my blush. While Two-Bit and the others talked I kept trying to steal glances at Dally but He was still locked with the girl. Suddenly an arm snaked around my waist and pulled me into it. I glanced into a pair of eyes. There was some emotion there on the surface. I couldn't understand what it was but I knew it was different from the look Dally had given me. It was so different it made me shiver with fear. I wanted to panic but I held myself still. Remembering Dally's word about being careful.

"Hey doll how's about me and you go up and get aqantied? What'd say?" He said his breath nasty with some foul odor I'd never smelt. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to go anywhere but home to the Curtis's.

"Let her go, shepherd." Two-Bit's voice came out clear and dangerous.

"Why we was just having some fun. Right doll" he said into my ear. Rubbing his hand up and down my side. I could feel the tears start filling my eyes my gaze was becoming glassy. I just had to breathe deep to keep from screaming, or fighting. I had to stay calm. I looked up and my gaze met Dally's. He was frozen in motion watching how it all played out. I could hear Two-Bit trying to talk to them but it didn't seem to be working. In fact the guys grip seemed to tighten if anything. I looked up to Dally again. Pleading silently with my eyes praying he'd understand. I felt a tear roll down my check. I could see Dally tensed as though debating with himself.

"Let her go." Dally's voice was clear and deadly he bushed the girl away from him and stepped up to me and the guy who was holding me. Everyone tensed. It was like a challenge to see who'd back down first. But with the look in Dally's eyes I didn't think it would be him. For the first time since I'd met him I wasn't silently cursing his name. I was praising him.

"You really wanna go there over a broad Dally?" Said the boy holding me.

"I think the question is do you really wanna fight me over this girl?" dally said he looked ready to pounce.

I held my breath. It seemed as though the world had stopped and everyone had forgotten how to breathe.

"Na, Dally I don't. I was just messing around." The guy said and released me pushed me roughly into Dally. Dally's steel grip caught me and held me away from him. He didn't look at me. I could hear the sounds of there footsteps fading away. Then only when no sound but Two-Bit, Dally and my breathing could be heard did he release his steel grip. I collapsed into him. A sob broke lose. I had tried so hard to be strong. My mind felt like it was on overload. I was so grateful to Dally. I felt him gently wrap an arm around my back to keep me from collapsing into mush on the ground. I clung to him. Feeling safe, for the first time since my grandmother had passed. I didn't ever want to let go. I faintly heard Two-Bit ask if I was okay I tried to answer but it came out a sob. I tried to nod my head but I began to shake, badly.

"Let's get her home." Dally said for the first time since the others had left. We began to walk back towards the Curtis's. I was still clinging tightly to Dally. I could feel that his body was still tense and ready, and probably uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything as the sobs continued to shake my body. Half way threw the walk home my legs gave out. I had finally quieted down, my body only giving a shake or two now or than. When my legs gave out I would have been glad to just sit there and die. But Dally lifted me into his arms and we began walking again. When my senses began to return to me I realized that Two-Bit had been oddly silent during the trip. I hope he isn't mad at me. Some where along the was I must have nodded of. Because the next thing I remember was waking up to Darry's raised voice and flinching at the sound. I opened my eyes and realized I was in my bed with a leather jacket covering me. I was happy knowing that it must have been Dally's. I felt this warm sensation start to fill me until the events of today came back to me. I started to sniffle and my sniffles turned into great heaving sobs. Which seemed to attract the attention of the other room. Suddenly my lights were turned on and soda was at my side. Darry leaning over him. Steve and two-bit behind them and Dally stood alone in the corner.

"Hey baby" Soda said and gently moved his hand towards my forehead. With out meaning to I flinched. Soda sat back in shock. I wanted to apologize but I couldn't find the strength.

"Its okay Rachel. I understand. You're safe here. No ones gonna hurt you." Soda said comfortingly. I gave a small smile, but it didn't reach my eyes.

"Two-bit and Dally explained what happened. We're so glad your safe kiddo." Darry said.

"Why don't you get some sleep." Soda said and Darry began to usher everyone out of the room. Dally was the last to go. He gave me one long look and then turned to leave. I wanted to find out what that look meant but all I wanted to do know was sleep.

"Do you want me to stay with you a little while?" Soda asked

I nodded yes but couldn't speak. I wasn't sure if I wanted to. I hadn't said a word today and I had gotten into trouble. I was so confused. My feelings were a mess. I just wanted to drift into dreamland. Soda smiled at me the scooted me over and laid beside me. There was nothing other than comfort going one. Though I was a little uncomfortable, not because of soda but because the thought of any touch made me think of the guy and the way he held me. I closed my eyes tightly and felt the tears run down my cheeks. I heard Soda sigh of saddens and him pull me into a hug, I kept my eyes closed and drift off comforted by the warm of soda and the security I felt by having Dally's Jacket around me.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning I awoke alone. Or at least I thought it was morning. Soda must have been at work, because it looked to be late after noon. The events of yesterday hit me like a ton of bricks. I can't believe I reacted that way. I can't believe I even thought for a moment that I could be normal. Normal people didn't cry on the most dangerous JD's shoulder, or have there legs collapse and have the most dangerous JD carry you back to your place of residence.

I felt horrible from crying and because I must have worried Darry and Soda so much. I must have worried everyone last night. I felt like a failure. I couldn't even go to the store without having me break down. I wasn't meant to be with people. I was meant for a convent. Maybe I could look into that. Soda would be upset and Darry would object but it would be for the best.

Yes, that's what I would do. I would give it about a month possibly more but if I didn't start fitting in I would look into other options. I would send the money that would have been given to them if I had stayed. That way Darry could still cut back on hours and relax a little.

I was filled with embarrassment. I didn't want to face anyone out there. I could hear the sound of the TV so that meant someone was home. Hopefully not everyone stayed home to see how I'd faired. I wished most of all that Dally wouldn't be out there. I didn't think I had the strength to face him right now.

Looking down I realized that I still had his jacket rapped around me. I blushed, I never would have imagined that I would have had slept in the most famous Hoods jacket the night before. I wondered why Dally or Darry or even soda hadn't taken it off of me earlier when I had first fallen asleep.

I was so embarrassed; I could feel my face growing hot, if I had been shy before gods help me now. I missed my grandmother; I would have gone to her when I needed advice. Though if my grandmother had been alive there would be no way that I would have been put in this situation to begin with.

I would have never met Dally. Dally; there were so many questions that filled my mind. Why did he come over that first night? Why did he help me last night? Why did he carry me back to the Curtis's? Why did he leave his jacket? What was that last look about? Just thinking about him made my chest tighten. I just wanted to sit him down and demand answers.

Maybe I would have had I been a normal JD. But I'm not. I didn't talk often and even if I did I wasn't about to demand answers from Dallas Winston I didn't have a death wish. I have to be patient if I wanted any answers. That was if I would get any at all. I couldn't see Dally sitting her down and bearing his soul now or any time in the near future.

Oh well I couldn't afford to have feelings for Dally, I couldn't afford to have feelings for anyone. I had to see if I could make it in this world, a world that wasn't mine, a world that might never be mine.

I really didn't want to move from my position in bed. I didn't want to face what lay beyond those doors. I didn't want to face the disappointment that was sure to be on there faces. But most off all she didn't want to get up and give back Dally's jacket. For a reason it gave her comfort and I wasn't ready to admit, even to myself.

Sighing I gathered my strength; I began to sit up when a knock sounded at her door. I sat up quickly and uttered a quiet 'come in'. Of all the things I didn't want to do, the one I definitely dreaded was talking. I just wanted to close my eyes and awake in my grandmother house, with my grandmother alive and making cookies for me in the kitchen.

Darry stuck his head in the door.

"Hey kid" Darry said with a small smile

I nodded in reply, Darry's face lost the smile for a moment but then it was back.

"How you doing?" he asked sitting down on the bed not to close but close enough to offer some comfort without touching.

I nodded me head and shrugged my shoulders I wasn't sure how I was feeling my mind was in a buzz.

He sighed quietly more to himself then me

"Are you okay from everything that happened yesterday?" he asked

I shrugged again. I wasn't but I didn't want him to know that.

"Rachel" he said trying to look me in the eyes, I looked away quickly. He sighed once more louder this time venting the frustration that had to have filled him. He stood up and walked to the door turning around he said

"I'm send soda in" and then he left

I felt bad about not talking to Darry. But I just couldn't I was mortified. I waited in silence not moving for soda to come in. I snuggled into Dally's jacket hopping I wouldn't have to give it up anytime soon.

I heard footstep right outside the door. I sighed knowing it was soda. I wished anyone but him would be come in I could never lie to him. He was my best friend. Maybe he'd let me tell him later.

The door opened and I turned my head away and looked towards the door. I heard the door click shut but instead of coming to the bed and sitting like soda always did he stayed next to the door. Oh he must be mad at me. Trying to clam myself down I took a few deep breaths and the turned toward soda.

Only it wasn't soda it was Dally. I heard myself gasp quietly I didn't expect this. I hadn't expected this in a million years. I was still wearing his jacket. I felt myself blushing. I just wanted to curl up and die.

The silence went on forever Dally didn't say anything to me he just kept looking at me making me blush. I wasn't used to being looked at, especially by Dally. I could feel myself getting hot. I wish someone had opened a window.

Just when I thought I was going to die of heat exhaustion Dally pulled up a chair. I silently let out a breath of relief. I still wasn't sure what to do. I've never had a boy in my room. Although this wasn't quite how it was suppose to go, I was sure of that, for what I'd heard from soda.

Was I suppose to say something first, because I was having the need to explain myself, in words. I wasn't used to wanting to explain myself in words. I actually had to stop myself, knowing I'd probably just mess that up also, just like I did everything else.

We sat in silence, with Dally staring out the window, which I found reliving that he wasn't looking at me anymore. Though I wasn't sure that he starring out the window was good either since his jaw was clenched and he was starring but not really seeing.

I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't sure what exactly was happening but I had to say something, for once the silence was killing me.

"Hi Dally" I croaked, great I sounded like a frog. My throat was rough from crying.

My voice brought his attention back from the window. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. That eyebrow motion made me blush. This brought a frustrated sigh from him which I was only accustomed to hearing in Darry.

"Look you fucked up big yesterday, letting them get to you, there not going to forget that." He said in extremely serious voice, like the one he'd first used that night at me house. His bad language slipped right by me for once.

I nodded in understanding

"No dammit don't nod you don't understand, you couldn't begin to understand what this means" he said pushing the chair back with such force that it clattered to the floor causing me to flinch, which seemed to make Dally more frustrated.

"Goddamit can't you just be fucking normal! You couldn't be a normal JD or hell even a damn soc no you had to be a weird chick who can't take care of her self. Do you understand how this makes everyone else life a living hell. That's all you've been is a problem, a burden, a never ending problem. You need to be shut away from the world cause I'm sure as hell not gonna stick out my neck like yesterday" his voice becoming louder with every word. Tears filled my eyes and began running heavily down my cheek.

"Dally what the hell do you think your doing?" came a voice from the door. I was to upset to see who it was.

Dally didn't say anything just pushed his way out the door, making the door slam against the wall. Making me flinch. God he was right I'm not normal. I shouldn't be here I'm just adding to the stress of everyone. My tears seemed to increase.

"Don't listen to dally, Rachel. He's just frustrated about things and he's taking them out on you" I looked over to see Ponyboy, my savior of the moment, standing near the bed.

I don't think I've ever been so happy to see Ponyboy before. I started to clam down. It seemed that Ponyboy's attitude towards me had left for the moment and I could be happy about that. Ponyboy picked up the chair that had fallen in Dally's speech and sat down next to the bed.

"Look Rachel we have to talk. I know this isn't the best time" he indicated looking at me tear stricken face "but I wanted to do this before everyone else got back." At the word back he smiled slightly.

"Darry and soda went to the store, the want to make you a special dinner. Two-bits out talking to shepherds gang about yesterday, trying to get rid of there interest in you, and Steve's covering soda's shit at the DX." He said explaining I nodded in understanding.

"Look about how I've been treating you the last few weeks" he stopped looking a little lost.

I nodded to him as saying you don't have to explain. But he shook his head in disagreement.

"No I do need to explain. It didn't have anything to do with you. It was all about Johnny." He said which floored me. What did Johnny have to do with me? He saw my look and began to explain.

"You worried me I wasn't sure what was going to happen, I'm still not but I was purposely trying not to get close to you. After all the shit, sorry crap that went down a few months ago I didn't think I could take anymore hurt. I wasn't sure if you were going to stay, if the court was going to let you stay and I didn't want myself to get attached. Which mad me look like a down right prick? I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and I'll be hear for you if you ever need anything" he said looking down at his hands with a relieved look touched with a little bit of shame for his previous actions.

I smiled softly and touched his hand lightly, trying to express some kind of comfort to him with out making myself uncomfortable.

"Ponyboy its fine, don't you worry we're fine. I understand, and in your position I can understand that. Don't worry all is forgotten." I said softly my voice still raw from all the crying from yesterday and from Dally's speech today.

Our conversation was perfect timing because only seconds after I had finished speaking the front door slammed open.

"Ponyboy we're home, come help us out." Called soda Pony smiled at me slightly and then left the room closing the door gently which was a relief from all the slamming going on today. I sighed and listened to the shuffling around the house from the Darry, Soda and Pony unpacking things in the kitchen.

All was quite and peaceful, which was nice, it was relaxing if I didn't think about all that happened from the short time I'd awoken today. I closed my eyes trying to think of happy and peaceful thoughts. I was shaken out of my peaceful thoughts by Darry's voice.

"HE SAID WHAT TO HER?" Darry yelled making me flinch slightly, but also smile knowing that no matter what he was supporting me. It also made me a little worried for Dally, once Darry got threw with him. I could hear Soda and Pony telling him to clam down and the slight murmur of Ponyboy explaining then I heard Sodas voice.

"I'll kill that no good son of a bitch who the hell does he think he is talking to her like she's one of his JD whores." I could hear him pacing. I couldn't help but smile, though I loved Soda and had faith in his ability to take care of me and himself I don't think he'd win in a fight against Dally.

Dally's presence itself is a scary thing and I've never even seen him fight. I was starting to feel bad again with the worry that must be on there shoulders. I needed to get myself together if not for me then for Darry, Soda and Pony so they wouldn't worry more about me. I silently got up a slipped Dally's jacket off my shoulders after his talk this morning it didn't give me the same comforting feeling it did before he stated speaking.

I gathered some fresh clothes and silently made my way to the bathroom to shower. I wanted to cleanse my troubles away.

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Darry POV

I silent started to put away the food we'd bought at the store as Soda started cooking. I hope he didn't try to dye the food green. He needed to understand that not everyone enjoyed eating odd colored food. All the while I was silently fuming over what Pony had told me.

I can't believe Dally said all that to Rachel. I could kill him. But that wouldn't do anyone any good. Pony and Rachel would be put in foster care. Soda would be homeless. So I have to resist the urge to pound his face in.

Though I have this feeling that Dally won't be coming back here in the next few days I just hope Rachel doesn't take his words to hard. Dally had this gift of speaking without thinking just letting whatever feeling he was having flowing.

Suddenly I stopped. I looked around the kitchen and saw Ponyboy and Soda had also stopped what they were doing. We all looked at each other and smiled. Rachel. She'd gotten up from her room and was in the shower. Thank God.

Maybe things would be okay.

End of Darry's POV

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After I had a wonderfully long shower and had gotten dressed I headed to the boys rooms to gather some laundry. Even though I was feeling terrible emotionally things still needed to be done. I couldn't ignore the things that need to be done. I need to act as normal as possible to keep the others from worrying.

Once the laundry was on I headed towards the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. I walked in and all three of the boys stopped what they were doing and looked up. Smiling soda got up and came over to me, hugging me.

It felt good to have some physical comfort that I've been used to; since my grandmother wasn't here Soda's hug was the next best thing. I hugged him back tightly. Glad he was my friend. When the hug ended he pulled out a chair for me and the small talk began. Darry began grilling Pony on his school work and I couldn't help but smile at the small attempt Pony was making to turn the attention to someone else.

Dinner was a rather uneventful; we all made small talk the boys being cautious about what they said to me. Though I wanted to say they didn't have to, I was silently grateful. After dinner was cleaned up we all settled in front of the TV while Pony did his homework and Darry read the newspaper. All was peaceful.

When the door banged open giving us all a fright and in came Two-bit.

"Hey Rachel I got you something" he said with a grin

I was a little weary but smiled and focused my attention on him.

"Close your eyes" He said playfully

I did as he asked.

There was some small movement and then he said

"Open them"

I looked at his out stretched hand and saw the fabric I had picked from the store with a half eaten chocolate candy bar on top of them. I looked up questioningly.

"I had the fabric from the other night and I got the chocolate bar for you but I got a little hungry" Two-bit said sheepishly.

I smiled at his kind thought and took his "present" of sorts and continued watching TV. Pretending not to notice the serious looks between Soda, Darry and Two-bit. I remembered Pony saying Tow-bit had gone to talk to Shepherds gang. I hope things were okay. The rest of the night was quiet with Two-bit making silly comments about the TV. Steve joined us after his DX shift, but Dally didn't make an appearance.

Finally it was getting late and I decided to head to bed.

"I think I'm going to go to bed" I said my voice startling everyone.

Darry sat forward in concern.

"Are you okay?" Darry asked with a glance to Soda

I nodded

"I'm just tired and want to get so extra rest, I plan to start a heavy cleaning of this house tomorrow" I said with a grin

They nodded and Soda gave me one last hug and whispered in my ear

"It's gonna be okay" I smiled into his shoulder.

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Darry's POV

I waited a few minutes before asking Two-bit about Shepherds gang. I didn't want Rachel coming out in the middle. I motioned for Two-bit, Steve, Soda, Pony to head out onto the porch. Once everyone was settled I asked the question that had been plaguing my mind.

"What's up?" I didn't need to elaborate they knew exactly what I was talking about. Two-bit let out a serious sigh, one I'd never heard out of him before. Everyone looked grim.

"Well they didn't forget about her. If nothing else there more interested in her since Dally helped her out"

"Shit" I said everyone nodded

"Where's Dally" Two-bit asked

"I do…" I was cut off

"Right here" Dally said coming from the darkness with a fag in his mouth and black eye and busted lip as he reached for his fag I could see his knuckles were busted open and bleeding heavily.

"Damn Dally who won you or that soc you've been fighting?" Two-bit said with his usual subtlety.

A general laugh came from everyone.

"I didn't fight no soc I was "talking" with Shepherds gang. Tell them to stay away from my girl" Dally said

"What" Soda Yelled?

"YOUR GIRL?" I said when had that happened?

"Did I miss something" Two- bit asked looking extremely confused. If it wasn't a serious moment I would have laughed.

"I told them she was mine, they shouldn't bother her, but that doesn't mean they won't and she shouldn't be out alone" Dally said with his usually attitude

"Why I auotta…" Soda started forward Steve caught him

"After the way you treated her today?" Soda said Steve holding him back.

"Hold on now, Dally did this right no ones gonna go against him unless there stupid" I said trying to diffuse the situation.

Soda stopped trying to break Steve's hold

They all nodded in reluctant agreement.

"While don't you all head in" I said and any objections I shot down with my stare.

"I wanna talk to Dally alone" I finished as a way of explanation.

Dally stayed where he was, so I went down to him, away from prying ears.

"I had planned to beat you down when I saw you after what I heard was said between you and Rachel" Dally had the dignity to look away his stance becoming tense as though he still expected me to fight him.

"But after what you did I'm reconsidering. We'll just see how this little talk of ours goes." I said looking at him for agreement he nodded.

"It was a nice thing you did telling them Rachel's your girl, I know you didn't mean it in the way they think, but you know that you can't be seen with another girl till this blows over, if they see you with another chick they'll think Rachel's free game. You understand that right?" I said looking him dead in the eyes

Dally nodded and said "I know"

I nodded and continued, "Good, now I know this is your way of apologizing for earlier today" I stopped when he scuffled

"You don't have to be that tough guy with me, I won't think any less of you" I said again looking him straight in the eyes.

"Like I was saying I know this is an apology, but I'm not gonna tell Rachel about this, it would weird her out, stress her out and I don't want her worrying. So if this is an apology to her your gonna have to find another way. I appreciate what you're doing. The sacrifice your making with you life to stay away from Sylvia and all those other girls, but no if you try anything with her there isn't a person in this world that could stop me from making you hurt." I finished

"You dig" I said using Dally's signature phrase to show I was serious

"Yea I dig" Dally said with a smirk, but I could tell he knew and understood the truth of what I was saying.

"Good now come on in and let's get you cleaned up. We have some dinner left if you're hungry." I said starting into the house.

Thing were gonna be okay. They had to be.

End of Darry's POV

I woke up later that night, not sure what had woken me. I looked around and say a person standing at the window starring out lost in thought. From this angle I couldn't see who it was.

"Ekk" I said automatically alerting the person I was awake.

The person turned and glanced at me. It was Dally. I can say without a doubt I've never seen a more beautiful sight then Dally standing there with the moonlight washing over his skin. It took my breath away.

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I'm sorry that it took me so long to post this. I'm also sorry for the long length of it. But know that this is my favorite story of them all and I love reading this as much I as love writing it. I've just had a lot going one. Hope you like it.

Let me know if I should continue?

Thanks for your patience.


	5. Chapter 5

First Off This Is Just A Repost Of Chapter 5 With A Message From The Author, Me.

I was just curious as to anyone was still reading this story, because if not then I can focus my attention on my other stories and tell my beta to stop editing the next three chapters that I sent to her of this story.

So...I don't mean to sound like I don't love this story, this story is my baby I love writing it. But I also know that I write as much for me as for people who read it, I can always just finish it for myself at some later time and focus on my other babies. So just let me know if anyones still interested.

Thanks for your time

If theres know one still interested than thank you for the nice, but short, run of this story and all its reviews.

Thanks Again

Nocturnalrose

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I wasn't sure what had gone on between the Curtis boys and Dallas Winston but he was absent often. When he did come, he was quiet, brooding, and he didn't stay long. I hoped his absence was not due to me. I hadn't questioned any of the boys, but I was getting extremely close to sitting Soda down and making him talk.

The boys had yet to try to push me into going out in public since the "Incident", as I began to call it, and I was not going to volunteer myself to go out. I would wait it out. Darry told me the other day that he had talked to the social worker, who talked to the judge, who gave the social worker the okay to push back my entrance to public school for another month or so, depending on how things went.

Soda told me one night when we had been talking that Darry was doing everything in his power to get me home schooled. He had been meeting with the social worker, the principal, the school board—anyone who might be able to help. He was getting closer, but as of now Soda had told me there was no end in sight.

Darry had his mind set on an alternative school for me, he knew as well as I did that I would not make it in public school. I had considered trying to find a private school, and though my grandmother had left me money, in the scheme of things it would not do that much good.

Darry's idea was quite a good one; he was trying to work out an independent study program for me where I would check in once a week with a teacher. Darry had told Soda that the only reason the Principal and the School Board hadn't kicked him out on his butt was because they knew my grandparents and my parents and respected them enough to understand the situation and try to find a solution.

I was thankful once again that my grandparents had made such a good impression on so many people, though I still thought about going to join a convent. I did enjoy my life, no matter how sheltered it may have been, and I would miss it, and everyone in it, dearly if I did decided to go. The idea was never far from my mind, and I had not ruled it out, yet I had decided to, for once, just go along with the current and let fate lead.

Pony had been good to me as of late, no true signs of dislike surfaced when he talked with me. Generally everything was going great. Except this one little thing; everyone including Two-Bit but not including Dally, because he'd been absent, was treating me like precious glass that was going to break at a second. All of the boys bent over backwards to make sure I was happy and did not need or want for anything.

For example, the other night I had asked Darry when he would be going to the store again because they needed more soda. As soon as the words left, my mouth all the boys stood up and decided who would run to the store to get soda for me, when I didn't even ask for any.

They arranged it so that someone was always home with me, usually more than one person at a time, making sure if they did go out there was nothing they could get me. 

Soda, the only person out of the limited few I had met, who was usually known to have a date, had not gone out one single time since the incident. I was beginning to think the girls of Tulsa were going to start a riot.

Though there was always someone with me, my days were mostly spent cleaning; I still didn't like talking all that often. Therefore, I usually puttered around, making the house livable. Most might think that cleaning a house was a one or two day project. They had never seen the Curtis's home before.

I had learned from a sheepish Darry that the last time the house had received such good care was when his parents were still alive, or never. Darry had told me that they had all tried to keep up with the house but everyone had something to do, and he was no better.

Most of the carpets I had to scrub and scrub to get to the point were you could even see a faint shade of the actual color. The only carpet I was having an unusual amount of trouble with was the family room, where everyone spent the majority of there time in the Curtis's house. The carpet in the family room was worn down from dirty shoes, boy's rough housing, and just dirtiness in general.

It was at that point in the day when I was done with my cleaning for the day and everyone was still at school or work, so it was just me and Two-Bit. It was fine with me, though he also treated me like something delicate. I think he might have felt guilty because he was with me when the Incident happened. He wouldn't drink when he was the only one with me, and from what I had always heard from Soda, that was quite an accomplishment.

I did appreciate everyone being so understanding, but at the same time I felt smothered, which lead me to retreat into my room or sit outside on the porch at night. Alone, it was calming and seemed to help all my stress and anxiety float away and up towards the stars.

Sometimes I would retreat into the kitchen when it was just Two-bit and myself, knowing that he wouldn't enter the room for fear of being put to work. Today I opted for my retreat to be into the kitchen, wanting to make a nice dinner, with enough food for everyone. Lately, since no one was keen to leave the house once home from school or work, we had quite a few unexpected guests who were hungry. So tonight I wanted to make sure that there was enough food for everyone.

Darry had come up with the new rule that every night we should eat as a family, which I thought was a rather nice gesture, though when everyone ate as a family I always felt as though I was disrupting the normal behavior and nightly routine. I was not sure who, if anyone, extra would be coming to dinner tonight, but a part of me hoped that Dally made an appearance.

I still had Dally's jacket, and wore it often, though if I was honest with myself I would admit that giving it back to him was the furthest thing on my mind. No one mentioned it 

when I was wearing it outside on the porch, and as far as I knew he had not asked for it back.

After our last few conversations part of me was scared to see him and part of me couldn't wait to see him. I wasn't exactly sure why I loved his jacket, but when I wore it I felt safe and comfortable, like nothing could hurt me. I was having a lot of mixed emotions where Dally was concerned and though I knew that I could talk to any of the boys, I restrained myself for fear of what they would think, and what they would do to Dally.

With dinner in the oven and everything else simmering, I decided to get a shower and freshen up. I didn't feel comfortable showering at night with all the boys in the house. It had nothing to do with them, per-se, but I had never showered with men in the house except for my grandfather.

After showering and putting my robe on, securing it tightly around my waist, I peeked out the bathroom door and double-checked the hallway to make sure no one was there before hurrying to my room. I was relieved once I reached my room and closed the door, pressing my back against it firmly. It wasn't that I didn't feel safe at the Curtis's, it just wasn't proper to be in a state of undress with a man or men in the house with you that weren't blood related to or married to.

After I was dressed, I made my way back to the kitchen, the scent of dinner wafting over me as soon as I stepped inside. Checking the meal, I realized that I had timed everything just right—nothing was burning and everything was just about done cooking. That was good, I thought, glancing slightly to the clock. The boys would start trickling in soon.

Normally Pony would already be home, but he had mentioned last night his plans to stop by Johnny's, promising he would be home for dinner. Sneaking a peek in the living room, I saw Two Bit sleeping softly on the couch his light snores filling the room, making me smile slightly. I began to set the table, getting extra places set in case of any unexpected guests. Minutes later the door opened and in stomped Darry, wiping his feet as he greeted me.

"Hey there, Rachel," he greeted, walking into the kitchen and peeking under the lids to see what I was cooking.

"Hi Darry," I replied in a soft voice.

"How was your day?" Darry asked, setting down his lunch pail on the counter.

"It was good. Dull, but I got a lot of cleaning done. I finished your carpet in your room— did you know that it's yellow and not brown?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, humor filling my voice.

"Yellow? Couldn't you have just left it brown?" Darry asked with a grin.

"Nope, it looks _clean_ now," I responded, smilling.

"Ahh, okay you're right. I'm going to freshen up for dinner," Darry yelled, making his was down the hall and towards the bathroom.

I continued to fiddle with dinner, wanting it to be perfect as always, when the door opened and Soda stepped, in dirty from head to toe from working his shift at the DX. Pony followed shortly after Soda, looking extremely serious. Once all the boys had finished cleaning up they all sat down to dinner.

For the most part, dinner was a nice affair, but they all grated on my nerves. The boys were treating me like I was breakable again. It was so frustrating that I felt the need building in me to scream.

I waited until dinner was done and the boys began to clean up as per the unspoken agreement. I cooked, they cleaned up. They pushed me into the family room to relax until they were finished. Instead of going and sitting, I opted for the front door.

Only going as far as the porch steps, I plopped down, an extremely un-lady like frustration flowing swiftly through me. I sat there, content to do nothing except relax and fight down the frustration. I was finally beginning to relax when I heard Soda's voice asking where I was as he entered the empty living room.

A large part of me wanted to reply that I was outside on the porch, but I fought that down and decided to just enjoy the peace before it was disturbed once more. The front door creaked open, causing me to turn around, watching as Pony cautiously stuck his head out.

"Rachel?" Pony questioned gently. I glanced at him, giving him a small smile. He returned with a smile of his own, filled with sympathy.

"Need some time alone?" Pony asked.

I nodded my head slightly, and he smiled in understanding.

"Don't worry about them, I'll tell them you're fine," Pony said as he headed back inside.

I could hear the muffled sounds of them talking quietly followed by a raised voice. I tensed, expecting someone to come out and talk to me, or force me back in because it was not safe outside. I waited but, no one came out.

Finally, I began to let myself relax again. Later, I was not sure how much time had passed. I wasn't mindful of it, instead enthralled with the peace and quiet that seemed to fill the night. I was jarred out of my thoughts when the front door opened, tensing slightly because I was not ready to be forced back inside yet.

I did not turn around as the person stepped lightly on the porch behind me. I felt something covering my shoulders and listened as the steps retreated back into the house. The smell of Dally's jacket filled my senses and I snuggled deeper into it, basking in the comfort and safety it seemed to fill me with.

Minutes later, another set of footsteps and a door opening alerted me as the person walked over to where I was seated and sat quietly beside me. Turning my head slightly to the side, I saw it was Darry. I didn't think Darry was ever going to speak which wasn't a problem for me. I was more then content to just sit outside quietly. But finally, Darry let out a long sigh.

"Rach I wish I could help and say I understand what you're feeling, but I don't. I've never been in the position that you're faced with now. I know when my parents died, I focused fully on Soda and Pony because they were family and I didn't want to lose them. But you've lost your grandmother and everything that was familiar to you. I'm sorry, and I wish there was something I could do, but I don't know what. This is all new to me, and I'm sure there is a better way to go about it but I can't seem to find it. It must frustrate you to be treated like a doll by us, but were not used to a girl living with us, especially one like you." He paused and glanced at me.

"Most of them greaser girls are tuff, no question, and that's what we're used to. Soda's the only one who is been with you on a long-term basis, but even he tends to treat you like a little sister who needs protecting. I hope we can all find a balance or something. We don't want to loose you, Rach, you're family now, and we love you. So we're going to all get together and talk this through—whenever you're ready. Just say the word. You deiced what you want to do, okay Rach?" Darry asked quietly, a hopeful note in his voice.

I nodded, not really feeling like talking through everything at the moment. Nevertheless, I was extremely touched that gruff old Darry would come out and share all that with me.

Darry acknowledged me nodded by giving a nod of his own before standing up and heading in.

"I'm going to keep them all in here so they don't bother you. Take as long as you need, but don't stay out here long enough to get sick," Darry cautioned while opening the doors and heading in.

I snuggled deeper into Dally's jacket when the scent of a fag entered my range. I started to see movement in the darkness, and I tensed slightly preparing to head inside in case of danger.

As the figure began to come closer, my heart started beating fast. I stayed seated, not wanting to over react as the person stepped into a street lamp. But my heart began to thump loudly in my chest, because it was not a stranger coming towards me, it was Dally.

My heart leapt.

Yay another chapter!! A HUGE thanks to my new beta Hanna!! claps wildly


	6. Chapter 6

**IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT: I have only recieved one notice of anyone still reading this this so I am going to post this chapter and two others that I have already written. If I don't get any reviews then I am going to cut my losses and move on to other stories. Thank you for all your time and I hope that you all are still reading and willing to review. **

**Thanks again to my beta Tigress and _Shiroi Tora Joshin, my only reviewer for the last chapter posted. Thanks _****_Shiroi Tora Joshin!! Your amazing!! +_**

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Watching Dally walked towards me the smell of his fag filling my senses brought back memories of a night previous when I had awoke to find Dally standing in my room staring out my window in her room bathed in the moon light

Watching Dally walked towards me from my seat on the porch, with the smell of his cigarette

filling my nose, brought back memories of a night previous. I had awoken to find Dally standing in my room, staring out my window, his face bathed in the moonlight. It took my breath away.

_**--Flashback-- **_

_Though I knew he was aware that I had awakened, he remained silent, staring blankly out the window. I could see a tic in his jaw. I stayed safely in my bed, not moving. Instead I chose to watch silently, not comfortable enough to sit up in only my pajamas as it wasn't proper to be alone with a man in anything less than your everyday clothes. But I was not about to bring up that point to Dally now or anytime in the near future._

_I could still feel the fresh hurt from our one sided conversation earlier that day, making me feel slightly weary of Dallas Winston and what he was doing in my room, at night. I wasn't quite sure why Soda or Darry had let him in. Then again, maybe they hadn't—Dally couldn't have gotten his reputation as "King of All Hoods" for nothing. Though I wanted to sit up I didn't, staying nestled under the blankets and Dally's own jacket. _

_I gently pulled the covers up to my shoulders, trying not to make it obvious that I was uncomfortable. I definitely did not want to set Dallas off—again. It wasn't that I was scared of Dallas, well not exactly, it was just that I didn't like raised voices and I didn't understand exactly where he was coming from when he spoke to me. I snuggled deeper into bed, still watching Dallas as he stared broodingly out the window of my room into the night. I began wondering if he was ever going to speak, which I seemed to wonder quite often when it came to Dally. I knew that I wasn't going to start the conversation, and though the silence felt awkward it also felt safe, like I always felt when I was in Dally's presence or wrapped in his jacket._

_He was an enigma that I couldn't figure out. Though I had only recently made his actual acquaintance, I was confused about everything I had previously heard about him. Nothing seemed to add up and connect in my mind. One second he was looking out for me, the next he was yelling at me. _

"_I'm not good at this" Dally murmured, his voice so low that I almost missed it. When he didn't elaborate I didn't rush him. You couldn't rush Dally into saying or doing anything he didn't want to._

_"I'm gonna say this once and only once, so listen good, girl," he told me gruffly, getting back the tuff attitude that I was used to seeing. I was startled when he began to pace suddenly, his movements choppy, like that first night at my grandmothers. I followed him silently with my eyes, still not daring to sit up. I was focused fully on him._

_"It wasn't right that I said all that shit to you today," Dally confessed, making me flinch at the rough words._

_I stared wide-eyed at him as he walked quickly towards my bedroom door stopping suddenly and turning quickly to face me. I sat up hastily, surprised, his jacket sitting snugly over my shoulders._

"_I can't say it ain't gonna happen again, but …I you gotta know I don't mean it. I just forget about it…you…sometimes." He said it quickly, like just the idea made him embarrassed and uncomfortable. His hands were busy flipping the lid of his lighter open and closed, his stare focused pointedly above my head._

"_We good?" he asked in a low voice, ducking his head slightly so as not to meet my eyes._

_I nodded._

_He turned and headed out the door, stopping it slightly before it closed fully. He turned his head to the side, his eyes locking with mine. I tried averting my eyes, but he kept me captive. His lips turned into a smirk that made my stomach flutter and my face grow hot._

"_Nice jacket," he teased, his eyes scanning over my face as I struggled to reply._

"_I….you…." I stuttered, thrown off by his comment._

"_Don't worry about it. Keep it safe for me," he reassured me as he clicked my door shut, leaving me in the darkness of my moonlit room, my face feeling like it was on fire._

_**--End Of Flashback--**_

Dally stopped in front of me, taking a long inhale from his cigarette. His eyes once again scanning over me, his lips turned up in what I considered a friendly smirk.

I wasn't sure why I was always paying attention to his lips. But they seemed to be constantly drawing my attention.

"Hi Dally," I whispered, not feeling the need to speak loudly.

He nodded, his eyes still focused on me; both hands in his pockets and his cigarette resting between his lips.

"Darry here?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Darry hardly ever went out at night, deciding to stay in and keep an eye on everyone.

"Yeah, so is everyone else," I told him with a sigh.

"They on your case?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged, not wanting to complain about being babied to the toughest hood in Tulsa. Somehow I just didn't think that he'd be on the same wave as me.

We stayed in silence, not saying anything else, though the need to ask him why he was never around was building. It would be the perfect time—no one was around to hear my question or his answer.

Just as I was building the courage to voice the words aloud, Dally nodded at me and headed past me into the house. I didn't want him to leave yet. I didn't know how long it would be until he came back or if I would have another opportunity like this one.

Just as he was reaching for the knob, I managed to gather my courage.

"Dally, wait," I requested, turning to face him. He stopped, dropping his hand from the door handle and turning to face me. His face registered polite shock, his eyebrows raised high on his brow. Well, as polite as Dallas Winston could get, that is.

"Why don't you come around anymore?" I asked, before ducking my head, my face burning. "It's not because of me is it?" I finished.

Silence filled the air, and I think even the insects held their breath waiting to hear his answer.

The silence continued and so did my growing embarrassment. I began to turn my head when he spoke.

"I'm gonna be straight with you, but this stays between us, you dig?" he asked, walking down the steps of the porch, resuming his position in front of me.

I nodded.

"That day that you were with Two Bit and the punk grabbed you…" he said started, pulling out his lighter and flipping it open and closed as he had done that night before.

I nodded again.

"Well you peeked those boys' interest in you. So I told them you were my girl." He stopped suddenly, pulling out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep drag before continuing.

"And to keep them out of your—our—business, I've been securing my title as king around here so no one'll think of messing with you for fear of me," he told me, and he began to pace slightly as though being this truthful made him nervous.

"Is it working?" I asked, not sure what else to say. He told people I was his girl? A warm feeling filled me at the thought.

"Yeah, but it's gonna take a while to get you out of their heads. You made an impression on them they ain't gonna forget anytime soon," he told me, taking another drag.

"Why? What's special about me?" I asked, wondering like hell why they would care about little old me.

"Well a hot broad like you—" he stopped, seeing me blanch at the word 'broad'. "I mean a _good looking girl_ like you, and then me stepping up for you draws attention, especially since I don't make a habit of doing the knight and shinning armor gig often."

I nodded, taking in the information he'd given me. I was shocked that he'd told me so truthfully. My respect for him went higher for being straight with me.

"What about that girl you were with? Does she mind?" It came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

His brow scrunched up in confusion. It made him look adorable, and I straightened mentally at the idea of me finding someone like Dally 'adorable'.

"Girl?" He asked. "Oh, you mean what's her face? Umm……?" he trailed off, a blank look covering his face.

I nodded.

"Yeah, that was a one time thing, nothing serious," he muttered quickly, though the words were a little stiff. It made me think he would have said it in a much different way to any of the boys.

"Oh," I murmured, glancing up at him quickly and catching his gaze before averting my gaze to the grass, my face heating up once again.

"Yeah," he stated, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Are you seeing anyone?" I asked, again, before I could stop myself. I really need to think before I spoke.

At his shocked glance I quickly added, "I mean, wouldn't all the work you're doing go down the drain if you were seeing someone?" I mumbled, slightly mortified that I had even asked the question.

A laugh brought me out of my mortification, a beautiful laugh that I had never heard. I had a feeling a lot of people weren't exposed to this side of Dallas Winston, which made me feel special. A warm feeling began to fill me up once again.

"Yeah, kid, it would. It definitely would," he replied with a smile/smirk. I couldn't decide which it was.

"Oh, well I'm sorry about that," I told him, not sounding sorry even to my own ears. I glanced up at him to see if he had noticed my lack of sincerity, he had, his smile had grown.

"Don't be, sweetheart," he assured me with a small smile.

I drew back, startled by the affectionate term. He grinned more broadly.

"Relax," he told me through a laugh. "I ain't sayin' nothing. That's what we call ladies, dig?"

I nodded, still a little flustered.

"I gotta go talk to Darry, you be careful out here and if you see anyone coming toward the house, I want you to head in right away, you dig?" he asked seriously, the good mood that had once filled the night air evaporating as quickly as it had appeared.

"I dig," I said in a small tone, causing him to smirk.

"You're alright kid, you're alright," he murmured as he headed into the house to talk to Darry and the boys.

I figured I'd stay out a little while longer. I need some time to cool down—my face still felt like it was on fire.

**Darry's POV**

The gang was all gathered in the living room watching TV, minus Rachel. Though we all seemed not to mind, I know her absence laid heavily on us. None of us were sure exactly how to help her. Rachel seemed to be ever present in my normal worries.

The door opened and in strolled Dally, which surprised me, because this mean he would have gone past Rachel and for once not raised his voice.

"Rachel still on the porch?" I asked before I could stop myself. I had to make sure she hadn't felt brave and wandered off.

Dally nodded before plopping down on the couch. His face was serious, and just from that look I could tell shit was gonna hit the fan. It seemed the guys also got that idea, from the way they were stopping whatever they were doing and focusing on Dally.

Normally, Soda would be making a crack about Dally's ego growing from all this attention, but I think he knew also that this wasn't a time for jokes. I just hoped this wasn't about Rachel.

"What doing Dally?" I questioned, deciding it was better to just plunge into the problem rather than tip toe around—it just wasn't the greaser way.

"There's been a lot of Socs nosing around lately looking for fights," he answered, his voice tight.

Everyone just sort of froze. We all knew that eventually the rivalry between greasers and Soc would start up again; I just don't think anyone would believe it to be so soon after the drama of Johnny and Pony had finally settled down.

"What happened?" Steve questioned before anyone else could wrap their thoughts around the news.

"They've been cruising for greasers, and when they find them they don't pussy foot around. They're looking to prove something. As much fun as it is to pound a Soc's face in, it's also getting dangerous to be out. You all have been keeping it low key since that thing and Shepard and I thought we ought to tell you," Dally finished, surprising me. Normally, Dally and Shepard were friends, but they hardly ever looked out for others.

"Why's Shepard involved?" Pony asked, his face white. I knew he was thinking about everything that had happened.

"Because they're not just going after a certain gang or person, they're just picking people and going after them," he told us, his voice rough

"What are we supposed to do Darry?" Pony asked me, looking for guidance. I was at a loss—in all my years, the rivalry between Soc and greaser had never been this bad. I couldn't wrap my head around it fast enough to give Pony and the others an answer.

"You won't travel alone, not even during the day. You'll carry a blade," Dally cut in thankfully, though I wasn't liking the blade advice and I knew he could see it.

"Well, gee Darry, what do you want them to carry? A flower and try to make peace with them while they're getting killed?" Dally asked in a cynical voice. I knew he had a point.

I shrugged in recognition of his point. I might not like it, but if it was gonna keep my family safe then so be it. I nodded, watching the others visibly loose the tension that had filled them.

"We'll all have to be careful real careful. We don't want a repeat of what happened before to happen again, got it?" I asked everyone, though I already knew their answers.

We sat still in silence, absorbing what this would mean for us and everyone we cared about.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" There came a sharp scream from the porch, bringing us all back to reality as we glanced to one another before realizing who was missing. Rachel.

We got up and ran.


	7. Chapter 7

A special thanks to my beta!!

Though she takes a long time lol jk

review please

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Though it the temperature was dropping I decided to give Dally time to talk with the boys, obviously it was on of those subjects I didn't need to know about, or I would have been included

Though the temperature was dropping, I decided to give Dally time to talk with the boys. Obviously it was one of those subjects I didn't need to know about, or I would have been included.

But nothing, not even being excluded from the conversation, could bring down the high I seemed to be on since my talk with Dally. He had told people I was his girlfriend. I wasn't exactly sure what to feel about that, but I did know that I didn't hate the idea.

The night was still quiet and the crickets had started their chirping once again, making for a peaceful night. My mind seemed to want to wander and I decided to wander with it. I was safe. All the guys were right inside; there was nothing to worry about.

I wasn't sure how deep my daydreaming had gone until I was startled out of it by a raspy voice. "Dally," it croaked.

I looked up and screamed for the first time since my parents had died, watching the person falling on me. I heard the thunder of footsteps as I tried to wiggle out from the dead weight that was covering me. I could feel hot tears leaking down my face, my breath coming in short gasps.

"Rachel!" Darry thundered as he saw someone on top of me.

I felt the body being removed and someone pulling me up.

"Fuck! Rachel, where do you hurt?!" Soda asked, coming over and checking me for injuries. I didn't understand why, because I wasn't hurt. Terrified, but not hurt. I didn't even flinch at his vile words.

I glanced at the boys, all of them watching me with a expression I'd never seen before. I wrapped my arms around myself, leaning heavily whoever was holding me up. When I felt a sort of warm wetness touching my arms, I removed them from my midsection and saw red all over my forearms.

Blood.

Blood all over _me_.

I started gasping for breath, my body shaking, tears coming more heavily then before.

"Jeez, Darry, it's Tim! He looks real cut up," Pony exclaimed, but I couldn't process the words. Even as I felt everyone move over towards the body all I could see was the blood, blood covering me, like the night my parents had died.

It was everywhere. I started to become light head and began to panic—if I passed out I would dream of that night, and I didn't want to. I could feel sobs shaking my body. The person that was holding me from behind slipped an arm around my waist, letting me lean almost fully on him.

Blood was the only thing that I could think of, it was swarming through my mind, not letting any other thoughts break free. I kept gasping—I didn't want to sleep.

I felt myself being propelled towards the front door and inside. I just moved with the person, still not fully there. A body had fallen on me. Blood was covered, blood like the kind…that my parents had been covered in.

A bright light hit me as the person holding me up turned it on and lifted me into the shower. He didn't speak, or maybe he did. I couldn't hear anything but the screams from that night; I couldn't see anything but the blood.

So much…blood.

I flinched suddenly when I felt cold water rushing over me. The thought of blood started to diminish. I started to come back to myself and realized that I was freezing in the shower, ice cold water running over me and soaking my clothes.

Dally's jacket! It couldn't get wet, he'd kill me! I reached for it, only to realize that it wasn't there.

"I took it off you before I sprayed you down," Dally's voice informed me, entering my hazy mind.

I looked up and saw him leaning against the sink, a serious look on his face.

"O-oh tha-a-nk you-u." I tried to thank him, but it came out in odd syllables since I was beginning to shiver.

Dally nodded, watching as I began to shiver before stepping up to the shower and turning it off. Before he stood back once more, I noticed his eyes skim over me. I glanced down, seeing my clothes wet and plastered to my skin, with no blood left anywhere on me.

I gave a small sigh of relief for that…until I looked up at Dally and saw him watching me a dark look that seemed to make his eyes light up. He looked…hungry, but not the normal kind of hungry. It was an expression I'd never seen on anyone before.

But I wasn't scared. I wasn't sure what to feel, but my stomach started to flutter as he looked me up and down again. I wasn't sure what this was, but I wasn't leaning away from him.

It was like his eyes were hypnotizing me. I could feel myself blushing, my face on fire.

Then the moment was gone as Darry's voice cut in.

"Dally? Do you got Rachel with you?" Darry asked, yelling down the hall.

"Yeah Dar, I got her," Dally replied, his eyes never leaving mine. Though I wanted to look away, I couldn't. He watched me with a different look from moments ago, but no less powerful. It looked like a realization had just come to him.

"Come on kid, let's get you dried off," Dally muttered, reaching for a towel and handing it to me.

I looked at him strangely, hoping he knew that I wasn't about to change with him there. I stood, rooted to my spot.

"I'm gonna go see what's doing out there. You get yourself dried off and changed," Dally said after a moment.

I nodded, thankful he was leaving because I was shaking like a leaf.

He started out the door, but stopped before leaving the room fully.

"Rachel, it would probably be good if you stayed in your room right now. There are gonna be a lot of different guys in and out of the house, you dig?" Dally asked me, and I nodded in understanding.

It must have to do with the body from earlier. But I wasn't going to let myself think anywhere near those thoughts—I was cold and wanted to change and curl up in bed.

_**Dally's POV**_

I walked into the living room and wasn't surprised to see most of Shepard's gang, plus his younger brother Curly and his sister Angelina—all these people were the reason I told Rachel to stay out of sight. I nodded to them all in greeting as Darry noticed me and headed over.

"How's Rachel?" he asked, looking wearier than I'd seen him for a very long time.

"She's good. She's in her room, I told her not to come out," I assured him, watching as he nodded in agreement.

"Has he woken up yet?" I asked, catching sight of the prone figure on the couch.

"Nah, not yet. We stitched him up as good as we could…didn't want to take him to the hospital like this."

I nodded—there wasn't anything the hospital could do except call the cops. It looked like about all we could do was wait.

_**Rachel's POV**_

After I had gotten changed, I curled up in bed, wondering where Dally had put his jacket and if I was going to get it back anytime soon.

_Knock, knock._

"Come in," I called, not recognizing my own voice. It sounded too weary to be mine.

"Hey Rachel," Darry greeted as he and Pony walked in.

I smiled at them, not feeling like replying verbally. I was too exhausted.

"How you holding up?" Pony asked as Darry took a silent inventory over me to make sure I wasn't broken.

I shrugged, not really sure how I was holding up. Everything felt so out of place and nothing had truly hit me yet. They nodded.

"Rachel, the guy from out there was Tim Shepard. He got in a fight and we assume he was looking for Dally when he came here," Darry soothed, sparking a memory from earlier.

"He said Dally's name before he fell," I whispered, watching them exchange looks.

"His gang and siblings are here, so it would probably be best if you just stayed inside your room for a while. Some of the guys that are here were there when the Incident happened," Darry told me, and I nodded. I had assumed something like that.

"The guys will be in to check on you later on. You gotta get some rest," Darry ordered before leaving with Pony.

I watched Pony as he walked out. He looked extremely pale. I wondered if this reminded him of a few months ago when he and Johnny killed a boy. I didn't want to think about that now, though, I wanted to sleep. Rest my eyes and wake up with this night being a bad dream.

I must have dozed off, because when I woke up next, it was light out. I had to go to the bathroom and get something to eat. I put on my robe and tied it tight since I wasn't sure who—if anyone—I was going to find in the house other than myself.

As I opened my door, a piece of paper fell to the ground. I picked it up, seeing my name on the front. I opened, it eager to see what it said.

_Rachel,_

_Pony's at school, Soda and I are at work. Dally's taking care of some business, Steve with Soda at the DX. Two Bit should be home with you most of the day. Pony's going to Johnny's after school today. I'm going to try and finish up early so I can get home, and Soda and Steve have full time. Tim Shepard, the guy from last night, is sleeping on the sofa. His injuries were a little too rough, so he needs to stay here for a day or so before he can move. Don't worry, he won't bother you. Just stay away from him and don't talk to him. We'll take care of him when we get home._

_Call the DX if you need anything or something happens._

_Darry_

I nodded, absorbing the letter, kind of caught off guard about that boy still being here. But if Darry said I would be fine, then I would be. I trusted him.

I used the bathroom and checked the clock. Seeing that it was still early, it was likely that Two-Bit would still be sleeping, and if this guy Tim was still recovering, he would be too, so I didn't change into my everyday clothes. I decided to go back to bed after I ate breakfast.

I moved silently through the house and into the kitchen, glancing quickly to the living room seeing Two-Bit fast asleep on the recliner and Tim asleep on the sofa. It looked as though he was shivering and sweating at the same time. I remembered my grandpa getting the flu once and he had what my grandma had called the hot/cold shakes.

I bit my lip indecisively, not sure what to do. Darry had told me to stay away from him, and though I wanted to and have him leave as soon as possible, if he got worse he might be here longer.

I went to the linen closet in the bathroom and pulled out a clean blanket and a wash cloth to dampen and put on his head to reduce any fever just like my grandma had done from my grandfather.

I tiptoed once more back into the living room, caring my supplies and watching for a few moments to make sure neither of the boys had woken up. I headed towards the couch, placing the wash cloth off to the side for a moment as I unfolded the blanket and began to cover Tim up.

Once that was done, I carefully wiped his hair off of his forehead with minimal contact and reached down to place the cold compress on his head. As I was moving my hand away, a hand clamped around my wrist.

I squeaked in surprise. I glanced at the hand and then to Tim's face to see his eyes wide open. My eyes widened as his hand tightened on my wrist making my eyes begin to water.

I gulped nervously.


	8. Chapter 8

SOrry everyone its a little late I know but better late than never right!! Omg pleassssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee review they inspire me to write more faster omg review

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Review me thanks for everything and a extra special thanks to my BETA!! Omg shes sooooo amazing!!

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I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. I mean, I was just trying to help, and then he grabbed my arm. I didn't know anything about him—what if he hurt me?

"Who are you?" he asked me, his voice rough like sandpaper. My first instinct was to get him a glass of water.

"I'm Rachel…" I offered quietly, about to say that Darry was my guardian, hoping that would be enough, but he cut me off quickly.

"Shit! You're Dally's chick?" he asked me, his demeanor changing quickly. I nodded, not sure what else to say.

"Damn," he cursed, quickly releasing my wrist and looking surprisingly ashamed. "Sorry about that," he apologized, pointing to my wrist. It was rapidly becoming a bright red.

I nodded like I understood, but I didn't, nor would I ever understand why he had grabbed me.

"What were you doing, come to see what you're missing when you're with Dally?" he asked with a grin. It took me a few moments to figure out what exactly he meant, but when I did I blushed bright red and ducked my eyes.

He cursed, causing me to blush even further and start fidgeting with the hems of my sleeves.

"I thought he was messin with me when he said you weren't like the others, but I guess he was right," Tim mused in a thoughtful voice, seeming to reevaluate me with his eyes.

I stood in silence, not sure what I was supposed to be doing. Could I walk away or would that make him mad? Should I see if he's hungry? Thankfully, he spoke.

"What were you doing?" he asked seriously. Though I knew very little about him I could tell just from being around him that he wasn't the sort that would take a half answer or my refusal to speak vocally very well. So I gathered my courage and took the plunge in explaining.

"I woke up and was going to make some breakfast, but then I saw that you were sweating and shivering. I got you a blanket and a compress in case you had a fever," I explained quickly, thankful that for once in my life my words didn't jumble together like they normally did when I become nervous.

He nodded once again, seeming to study me thoroughly.

I wasn't sure if that was a dismissal so I just stood there looked at my slippers, my pink bunny slippers, the last gift I had received from my grandmother.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, suddenly not really wanting to stand in silence as he studied me. He looked slightly surprised before shrugging as if to say 'whatever'. I nodded.

"I'm going to make some eggs and bacon with toast. Would you like me to make you a plate?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes so I could escape to the kitchen. He nodded, still studying me.

"Okay…I'll bring it out to you then," I told him, turning quickly and heading towards the kitchen.

As soon as I reached the safety of the kitchen, I leaned heavily against the counter, feeling the weight of what had just happened falling upon my shoulders.

It felt like, if he hadn't liked my answers, injury or no injury would have kept him from hurting me. Though I hadn't heard of many girls being hurt by guys from Soda, Tim had this dangerous aura surrounding him. I wouldn't want to mess with him even if I was a guy.

I cooked quickly because I didn't want to keep him waiting. I placed mine in the oven to keep it warm and grabbed silverware for Tim. As I walked out, I thought that he had fallen back to sleep and I could slip away without waking him, but as soon as I started to move, his eyes opened. I took a deep breath and walked forward.

I placed his meal on a TV tray and then moved it so it was in front of him. He began to sit up, wincing heavily. I moved to the side to help, but when I touched his shoulder he tensed visibly. I thought that he was going to push me away, but he relaxed gradually, allowing me to help. Once he was seated and began eating, I posed my next question.

"Do you want some juice?"

Again, he looked surprised. I was beginning to get the feeling that it wasn't often someone took care of him. He hesitated for a moment before nodding and then going back to eating.

I went quickly to the kitchen and pulled out two glasses, both for him. One I filled with juice, the other with water. I grabbed some aspirin from the counter and both glasses before heading back in the living room, setting both glasses on the tray before speaking.

"Here's some juice and water. I also brought aspirin in case you're in pain. I'm sorry, I don't think we have anything stronger," I added apologetically. He nodded.

"I'm going to go get dressed. I'll be back for your plate in a few minutes," I informed him slowly, giving him time to object. He didn't, so I headed quickly to my room.

Once inside, I braced myself against the door, feeling as though I had just dodged a bullet once again. I changed quickly, not wanting to take a long time. I was afraid that, if Tim needed something, he would try and get up. I wasn't sure if this was courage or just my caring nature, but I couldn't leave him to suffer. He could barely move on his own.

I changed into a pleated black skirt with knee highs, Mary Jane's, and a white button down long sleeve shirt. I chose the long sleeves because I was beginning to get a bruise were Tim had grabbed me earlier. I didn't want the boys to make a fuss. I put my hair up in a simple bun and added some makeup to my face to cover the light blotchy spot from last night's cry-fest.

I headed back into the living room, seeing Two-bit still asleep in the chair. I began to wonder if he could sleep through anything. I glanced to the couch and saw that Tim was missing—my heart caught—what if he was somewhere hurt, or he was coming after me because I upset him?

My heart was beating wildly, but I calmed when I heard the bathroom door open. Tim came out leaning heavily against the wall. He looked like he was in severe pain. I rushed towards him, gently placing my arm around his back to add some support, though I knew if he collapsed that I wouldn't be much help with his large frame.

He tensed again when I helped him over to the couch before relaxing, breathing deeply like I used to do when I skinned my knee.

I grabbed his plate and headed to the kitchen to clean up. When I came back, I moved the TV tray from in front of him and placed his water on the nightstand beside him.

"Do you need anything else?" I asked quietly.

"Na," he replied gruffly.

"Okay…I'll just be in my room, then, call if you need anything," I murmured as I began to walk away.

"Wait, could you turn on the TV?" he asked suddenly.

I walked over and turned it on. "What did you feel like watching?" I asked, looking over my shoulder at him.

He shrugged before answering. "I don't really wanna watch nothing, I just don't wanna be by myself." He said it so quietly I could barely hear him.

I was shocked that he had told me, but touched all the same.

"How about I go grab some stuff from my room, and then I'll stay around until Two-Bit wakes up?" I threw the question to him.

He shrugged like he didn't care, but I saw the tension ease a bit from his shoulders.

"I'll be right back," I assured him as I headed into my room, grabbing my needle and thread and some of the boy's clothes that needed mending before heading back out to the living room.

When I entered, I was unsurprised to find Two-Bit still fast asleep. Glancing over at Tim, I saw he was checking his bandages. They were caked with blood.

"Are you okay?" I asked rushing over to him dropping the clothes and sewing kit on the floor.

"Yeah…I think I busted a stitch when I got up, nothing to big" Tim informed me, wiping the blood from his fingers to his pants.

I wasn't sure what to do. If I let it go until the boys go home without cleaning it, it could start an infection. But if I did clean it I would have to touch his naked stomach, which I'd never done before, plus blood and me weren't getting along all that great as of late.

"Wait here," I commanded, rushing to the bathroom to get the first aid kit I had brought from my grandmother's.

"Yeah, like I'm really going anywhere," was Tim's sarcastic reply, which caused me to smile lightly.

I came back into the living room with the first aid kit, gathering my courage and praying that my grandmother was with me.

"Okay take off your shirt," I requested, which made him raise an eyebrow and me blush like I've never blushed before.

"Okay, but let's not tell Dally," he said. I squeaked incredulously, which caused him to laugh and me to realize that he was joking.

He reached up and began to remove his shirt, and I prayed that I could do this. He needed help and I couldn't let myself become distracted.

I sat down on the floor so I could reach his bandages. It looked like they tried to gut him, the cut running from below his belly button to near his ribs. I felt sick that someone could do this to another person. I also realized that I really knew nothing of what Dally had told me that first night until this moment.

This was like war that I had read about during history lessons with my grandmother. This wasn't right. I bit back my upset feelings, not wanting to vocalize them. Though Tim seemed nice, I'm not sure how he would be with a crying female. I held back my tears.

I began to remove the old bandage and pulled out my gauze. Blood squirted from where he had busted a stitch landing on my white shirt, and I couldn't hide a grimace.

"Sorry," Time breathed in a labored voice. I knew this probably wasn't the most comfortable moment in his life or in mine.

I grabbed the alcohol and a cotton swab and began to dab it gently over the cut. He hissed in pain, halting my movements

"Keep going just get it done," he muttered between clenched teeth.

I hesitated but continued, wanting to get this done as soon as possible. I continued to clean it not daring to try and fix the busted stitch. He opened his legs to I could reach better, and I scooted between them and began to apply a disinfectant cream to his cut.

There wasn't much I would be able to do about the scar; it was so long and deep that I was almost positive it would leave a mark behind. I glanced up quickly to see his head raised to the ceiling, his face sweating and his body tense. The pain must have been unbearable.

Once I was done applying the cream, I grabbed some gauze and began to lightly place it over his cut, applying tape over it. That finished, I began moved to help him pull down his shirt from my position between his legs on the floor when all of a sudden a voice interrupted.

"I'll kill you, you stupid son of a bitch," Dally hissed from the doorway. It was then and only then that I realized my position between Tim's legs. I glanced over my shoulder and saw the whole gang standing in the door way with Dally. Two-bit had woken up from the noise.

"I'll gut you like the spineless bitch that you are," Dally threatened again, pulling out his blade and heading straight towards us. Tears began to leak out of my eyes—I'd never seen him so angry. I braced myself.

"I'm gonna kill you" said Dally pushing me out of the way to get to Tim.

Dally POV

I sighed as I headed back towards the Curtis place. I'd spent all day dealing with Shepard's gang and their day to day shit, while Tim rested from his "near death" experience. I'd hoped to get back sooner, not wanting to leave Shepard alone with Rachel, but Tim's gang had needed more than I thought. I don't know how Tim dealt with it all without going insane.

I sighed as I finally reached the Curtis's house, thankful I hadn't gotten delayed any longer. I wanted to get Tim out of the house, now.

Just as I was walking up, the rest of the gang appeared randomly. One glance at Darry said it all—they wanted Tim away from Rachel as soon as possible.

I headed in first, wanting to get a move on. As I walked through the door, I was shocked, and it takes a lot to shock the king of the hoods. There was Shepard sitting up on the couch with Rachel crouched on her knees between his legs, his head thrown back and his jaw clenched.

"I'm going kill you, you stupid son of a bitch," I growled, my voice filled with rage. They both turned to look at me.

"I'll gut you like the spineless bitch that you are." I pulled out my blade and started for Tim. I'd never been so angry before in my life.


	9. Chapter 9

**AngelsXAmongXUs, won't be the Victim, Purple Soap, EdwardCullenIsLove,**

**Caitly, NELENAforeverIHATEMILEYCYRUS**

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The next thing I remember was waking up in my bed, still fully clothed. I don't know what happened with Dally and Tim or how I got into bed. Dally's jacket was nowhere to be seen, and I felt like I'd lost my security blanket.

I still can picture the rage in Dally's eyes as he was coming towards Tim and I, the shocked looks on all the boys' faces as they stood like stone in the doorway.

I shivered, replaying Dally's words—"I'm going to kill you, you stupid son of a bitch,"

and "I'll gut you like the spineless bitch that you are."

I'd never witnessed anyone as angry as Dally was. I had to stop thinking about it, my head was already pounding and I didn't want to cry and hurt even more.

The sun was shining brightly into my room, which meant it was probably well into the next day. I really needed to buy curtains to act as a buffer so the sunlight wasn't as bright on the days I slept in.

I couldn't find the courage to move and see if anyone was home. I didn't want to face anything about yesterday—I didn't even understand what was so bad about me changing Tim's bandages! The guys' reactions made no sense.

I decided to wait for a while before leaving my room. I wasn't sure if anyone was home, but if they were, I was afraid that what ever conversation we were going to have wasn't going to be a pleasant one. So I lay back down and closed my eyes.

I wasn't sure if I drifted off or if it was just seconds after I closed my eyes, but I was startled by a knock on the door. I swallowed nervously and sat up, pulling the covers to my chest.

"Come in," I said in a quiet voice. I wasn't feelling very confident today.

Soda poked his head in. "Good! You're awake," he said with a goofy grin.

I nodded, and Soda came into my room, plopping himself on my bed like the times we'd talk at my grandmother's.

"How ya feeling?" he asked with a smile, though his tone was serious.

I shrugged not sure what kind of answer he was looking for.

He nodded and for the first time in our friendship, an awkward silence filled the room. Soda began tracing the pattern of my bedspread. I watched him, not sure what to say or why this felt so awkward.

"Darry's gonna be home in a little bit and he wants to talk to you," Soda said in a rush, glancing at me briefly.

"Oh. Okay," I said slowly, though my mind was racing, trying to figure out what Darry would want to talk to me about and why Soda was being so serious.

"Pony's over at Johnny's and won't be back till dinner, Darry's gonna pick something up so none of us have to cook," Soda recited, finishing with an uncomfortable smile.

I didn't like this—everything was so different and I couldn't understand why. Soda and I had always had an easy going friendship, but suddenly it had changed and I didn't know what I did.

"Well I'm gonna go do some wash. Call me if you need anything." Soda scrambled out the door. I knew that was an excuse to leave my presence. Soda never did his own wash. Darry had to threaten him with bodily harm before I came to live with them and now I did everyone's wash.

Tears began to trickle down my cheeks. I didn't want to lose Soda; he was my best friend, my only real friend. I didn't understand what was happening.

I must have drifted off from crying, because when I came to again, the sun was no longer shining in my window. Instead, the glow of the moon filled my room. My head ached even worse than before and my throat felt like someone had made me swallow a brillow pad.

It reminded me of that night when Dally was staring out my window. A warm feeling filled me until I remembered the look in Dally's eyes last time I'd seen him and the lack of his jacket. I felt tears begin to fill my eyes again.

Suddenly a gently knock sounded at my door. I sat up, wiping my eyes. I pulled the blanket up to my chest and uttered a quiet, "Come in."

The door opened, revealing Darry.

I gave a weak smile, my heart not in it. I was in too much distress.

"Hey Rachel," he greeted and pulled a chair in with him, sitting down beside my bed.

I nodded at his greeting.

"Rach, we gotta talk," he said with a grimace.

I nodded again, waiting for him to continue.

"About yesterday…" Darry started, but he stopped and began to rub the back of his neck tiredly, releasing a long sigh.

"You know what, I'm hungry how about you? I'll go make you a plate," Darry offered, standing up too quickly and exiting my room before I could utter a protest.

I got up quickly, intending to follow him and ask him what was going on. I left my room and started towards the living area, but stopped when I heard voices.

"Did you talk to her?" a voice sounding like Pony asked.

"No! I couldn't do it, I don't even know what to say," Darry admitted.

"Well I couldn't do it, and if you couldn't, who are we gonna send? Pony? Steve? Two- Bit?" Soda asked. I noted the person he left out of the lineup with a grimace.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with me!" a voice I knew instantly to be Two-Bit's chimed in.

I carefully turned and walked back into my room. I didn't understand, and I didn't want to stay here. They were supposed to be family, but they couldn't even talk with me honestly. No one wanted to talk to me. No one wanted me here. I need to know what I had done. I needed answers. I didn't want them to hate me, or unable to stay in the same room with me.

An idea popped in my head, one that I knew I shouldn't act on. But the way I was feeling didn't leave me with much rationale. I pulled out a pair of clothes quickly, but then I stopped and reached up to grab the pair of jeans that Darry and Soda had given me. The ones I had never wore because they were so form fitting. I sighed quickly and put them on, dressed, and applied more make up then I'd ever done before. I glanced quickly in the mirror, not recognizing the girl starring back.

Her hair was down, washed in dark makeup and dressed tight jeans and a fitted shirt. I almost lost my courage. But I had to find out what was going on. I wouldn't loose my only family over whatever was happening.

I opened my window and glanced down, not sure how Soda had done this so many times. I said a quick prayer to my grandmother to watch over me and climbed out the window.

I lost my footing and fell flat on my butt. Soda always made it look so easy, I felt myself getting red in the face. I couldn't even sneak out without messing up. No wonder they couldn't talk to me.

I sighed, looking around in the night, gathering all my courage. I headed towards the heart town, thankful I remembered the way Two-bit and I had gone that fateful day.

Now to find Dally


	10. Chapter 10

**Caitly, welivetonight, dreamerx0, ShikaKibaShinoGal, nocturne tigress,**

**britni1991, NELENAforeverIHATEMILEYCYRUS, Shiroi Tora Joshin, poof13, ForGottenThoughts93**

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I had been walking for a while, and though I had passed a few people here and there, I didn't have the courage to ask them if they knew where Dally was. I was starting to doubt my grand idea and was contemplating turning around when someone said my name.

"Rachel!" When I didn't turn, they said it again.

I didn't respond, instead walking faster, not knowing who would know me except for the Curtis'. I didn't want to talk to them until they could tell me what I had done. I heard the person jogging towards me and I began to walk faster, but I didn't quite run because my grandmother had always said ladies don't run.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm and swung me around like I weighed nothing. I looked up and saw it was Tim who had been calling me.

"Rachel what the hell are you doing out here alone?" Tim asked me, anger filling his voice. I shrunk back slightly but he kept his grip on my arm firm.

"I...wa…" I started, but I couldn't continue. This was such a horrible mess, and I didn't know what to do.

"Well _speak,_ kid," Tim demanded, and though I felt like wallowing in self pity, I didn't think that Tim would want any of that.

"I'm looking for Dally," I told him quietly.

He looked over me, his eyes widening. "You two have a fight or…something. I know he was pretty mad yesterday, after you passed out, but I didn't think he was pissed at you," Tim said, scratching the back of his neck like Darry had done earlier.

I nodded, not sure what to say while I wasn't taking in the information that I had passed out, which explained why I didn't remember anything.

"Damn! Rachel, I'm sorry about yesterday, getting you and Dally fighting," Tim said awkwardly. I had a feeling he didn't give apologies often.

I nodded, not wanting to tell him he hadn't. It would be better for everyone if he thought what he thought.

"Let me take you to Buck's, old Dal should be there," Tim offered and I nodded, happy that he was going to take me to Dally. "Come on kid," he prompted, finally releasing my arm. I glanced down and saw that my arm was turning red like my wrist had. I hope it didn't bruise, too.

I followed, not sure what else to do. He led me to a run-down house with a brand new car sitting in the driveway and a bunch of guys gathered around it. I tensed and began to slow my steps. I saw Tim glance over his shoulder and knew that at that moment he noticed my slow steps, because he turned towards me.

"Don't be nervous Rachel, they ain't gonna do nothing to ya, your Dally's chick, plus you're with me." His tone said that that was all I needed, but I didn't see how. I just nodded and tried to put on a relieved look, although I think it came out more of a grimace.

"Tim! Where'd you take off to?" a boy around my age asked.

"He went to find that hot broad," another answered for him, and I could feel their eyes on me, so I kept my eyes focused on my shoes.

"You must be a real dumb shit-jack to be talking like that about Dally's girl," Tim challenged, his voice full of authority.

I could feel their shock.

"Sorry," the one called Jack mumbled.

"Come on Rachel," Tim prompted, fishing the keys out of his pocket and opening the passenger side door for me. I nodded and gently slid in to the leather seats. They felt nice.

I glanced out the window and saw Tim saying something to all the guys. I watched them all avoid looking at me and a small smile came to my face. They must really respect Dally to not look at me.

Tim walked around to the driver's door and got in. He started the car and began driving, and at his speed, I clutched the door. Tim must have noticed because he slowed his speed.

"Look Rachel, I don't know you, but I know your not Dally's type." I glanced up and then down towards my lap. Not Dally's type must mean I'm not pretty enough. I felt my face burn at embarrassment. "I don't mean nothing by it. There's nothing _wrong_ with you…" Tim trailed off, and I could hear the struggle in his voice; I didn't think he was nice often.

"I don't know why Dally's been saying you two are together, but I'm not gonna make waves about it. But I want you to know that you need anything you come find me, kay?" Tim assured me.

I nodded, touched by the niceness of his offer.

"Just don't go around telling people I'm a nice guy. You took care of me yesterday, and I've never had someone do that in a while without expecting something. You're one of a kind" Tim said his voice gruff.

We pulled into a driveway packed with cars. I could hear the music the whole way out in Tim's car. Suddenly someone was flying out a window. Tim laughed at my shocked look.

"This is Buck's, sweetheart," he said like that would explain it all. I must have still had a confused expression on my face. "This place is where all the hoods hang out; if Dally's anywhere, he'll be here," he elaborated before getting out and walking to my side of the car and opening my door.

"Come on out and we'll go find Dally," Tim pressed, but I stayed rooted to my seat. I wasn't sure this was a good idea anymore. I wondered if Tim would take me back to the Curtis's. He must have seen the indecision on my face. "Do you want to find Dally or not?" Tim asked me.

I nodded and got out of the car. I followed behind him and almost bumped into him when he stopped suddenly and turned around.

"Stay behind me and don't make any eye contact," he ordered, watching me until I nodded yes. Then he began walking again. Once we entered, I knew I was way out of my league. The smoke was so thick that you could see it, and I had trouble breathing. I kept up with Tim as he walked towards the back room. When suddenly someone pinched my butt and I squeaked. Tim turned suddenly to see what had happened. He looked at me and then the guy who suddenly stood up and swayed.

"Hey babe, why don't you come try out a real man," the guy welcomed, his voice slurring as he spoke and then he began to walk forward. He smelled horrible, like alcohol, sweat, and smoke. It made me want to vomit.

"Buddy, you're gonna wanna step back now," Tim warned, his voice deadly calm. I swear the whole place stopped to listen and watch as Tim stepped in front of me.

"Oh yeah? Why would I do that?" the guy asked, slurring his words together.

"Because I said so." Tim spoke softly and I could hear everyone hold their breath.

"Yeah? What're you gonna do about it?" mystery guy challenged, poking Tim's chest.

"This," Tim said simply, and then he punched the guy in the face. I flinched, never having seen a fight before. The guy went down quickly and after a few moments of silence a cheer broke out for Tim and then everything was back to normal, like the fight had never happened.

Tim looked at me and frowned. My face felt pale and clammy, and it must have showed.

"Come on, kid," Tim said, leading me once again. I swore I heard him mutter, _"Dally's gonna kill me."_ But he didn't elaborate, so I didn't question. This was all a little too much to handle right now, when I just wanted to find Dally.

I followed Tim to a door behind the bar. I thought it would normally only be for employees, but since no one seemed about to stop him, I followed, staying hidden behind Tim.

"Dally." I listened as Tim called out.

"What do you want Tim?" Dally growled, his voice tight with what must have been anger.

"I got someone here to see you," Tim told him.

"Yeah, well, I don't wanna see no one," Dally replied, his voice even tighter than before.

"Well it's your girl, but if you don't wanna talk to her, I'll take care of her," Tim murmured offhandedly, stepping back as if to leave. I didn't understand why he was saying those things—it was like he wanted Dally to get mad at him.

"My girl? My girl wouldn't go anywhere with the likes of you, Shepard," Dally snarled, and the way he said it, I felt like I was missing something.

"Yeah, sure she wouldn't Winston," Tim scoffed, moving aside to reveal me. Dally stood up suddenly and flew at Tim, fist connecting with face. I think I heard something crack as he just kept hitting Tim. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood, glancing around to see we weren't alone.

There was a group of guys with girls in their laps sitting around a table playing some sort of card game. No one was standing to break them up.

"Shepard, Winston, takes it outside," a voice ordered from behind me. I turned quickly and saw a guy holding a beer, dressed in jeans and a shirt with a large belt buckle.

When Tim and Dally kept on fighting, the boy moved between them and shoved them both hard.

"Damn Buck, we was just having some fun," Tim breathed with a bloody grin.

Dally said nothing. His eyes, however, fixed on me. I looked down, not wanting to meet those eyes. Tim moved towards me; I saw Dally tense and clench his fists.

"I'm gonna hang around for a little bit. If things don't go good with Dally, come find me and I'll take you back to the Curtis'," Time murmured, glancing once more towards Dally before walking out of the room, followed closely by Buck.

I didn't know what to say but I felt the need to say something. "Dally, I..." I started, but I was cut short by Dally himself, who growled, "shut it" before grabbing my hand and his beer from the table and pulling me along with him as he headed towards a stairwell.

Once we were both up the stairs he led me to a door at the end of the hallway. Pulling out a key and slamming the door open, he walked inside his hand still firmly in mine.

He closed the door, locking it, then he began to pace again. I could see the tenseness of his shoulders and his clenched jaw. Suddenly he stopped and swung his body towards mine, facing me dead on he asked, "Rachel what the hell is you doing here, dressed like that, with Shepard?"

I did the last thing I wanted to do—froze like a deer in headlights.


	11. Chapter 11

**Omg I got seven, count them seven reviews on the same night as postage!! You guys really do love my story wipes a tear **

**Cookies, brownies and pennies for all…**

_**Katmeows4no1,**__**Indiana9311,**_ _**poof13,**_ _**britni1991,**_ _**won't be the Victim, ShikaKibaShinoGal **_

_**dreamerx0:**_ The anger between Dally and Tim is that both of them have reputations with the ladies (I've always wanted to say that corny line) and Dally's afraid of losing Rachel to Tim because he hasn't even admitted to himself how much he likes her, just yet. Did I make since?

_**Nocturne tigress**__**:**_ you'll get your damn penny when I get the rest of my chapters lol jk take your time

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Thanks again for all of my reviewers and if you're reading but not reviewing then can I tempt you with a cookie, brownie or penny?

Sad news though I only got 9 reviews total for this chapter and the last chapter I got 10 : (

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"I needed to talk to you," I said before my mind could stop my mouth.

"About what? What would be so important that you left the Curtis' alone, met up with Shepard, and came to Bucks to find me?" Dally, asked his voice filled with scorn.

I wasn't sure how to reply. I'd never heard that disdain in his voice before. He was supposed to tell me what I had done, not make me feel worse than I already did. I turned away from him before he could see my tears and walked over to the window. I felt the tears trickle.

"Answer me Rachel! What was so damn important?" he demanded, walking over to where I was standing and grabbing my shoulders to turn me around. When he spotted my tears, all of the anger that seemed to fill him deflated.

"Damn. Rachel, I'm sorry, I'm a bastard," he apologized, running a hand over his hair.

"I just wanted to know what I had done to make everyone hate me," I murmured through my tears.

"Hate you? What do you mean?' Dally questioned, confused.

"Soda tried to talk to me, but couldn't, and than made up an excuse to leave my room. Darry couldn't stand to be near me after last night. I just want to know what I did to make them hate me so I can fix it," I elaborated as my tears began again with a vengeance.

"Damn. I knew I should have stayed," Dally sighed, more to himself than to me.

"They don't hate you Rachel. They were trying to explain to you what was wrong about you and Tim yesterday." Dally said

I began to calm down, but in place of my tears confusion began to fill me. "What do you mean? I don't understand," I said, my eyes asking Dally to explain.

"…this is hard." was his reply. "Sit down," he offered. I glanced around seeing nowhere to sit but on the queen-size bed. I chose that and walked over and sat down. The bed was surprisingly comfortable.

"Look, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Don't talk until I'm done," Dally commanded. I nodded yes. "Yesterday, when we came in and found you…" he paused and pulled out a fag and lit it, taking a deep drag before continuing. "Between Tim's legs it looked like you were doing something else to him instead of changing his bandages" Dally said taking another drag, his jaw clenched while he continued to pace.

"What did it look like?" I asked

"What did I say about talking?" Dally countered my question.

I nodded.

"It looked like something girls do for guys when they want to please them," he said, his voice so tight that I was amazed a sound was able to be heard.

But I still didn't understand what he meant. Dally noticed my confusion because he cursed loudly.

"Did your grandma ever talk to you about sex?" he asked me bluntly.

I blushed like a tomato."You mean intercourse?" I asked quietly

"Intercourse. Jeez. Uhh…yeah," he replied, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Well, did she tell you that there are different levels of 'intercourse'?" he asked saying the word intercourse mockingly.

"Yes she did," I replied, but kept my eyes firmly on the floor, my arms wrapped around my middle.

"Did she explain what those other levels were?" he asked.

"No. She said…my husband would tell me on our wedding night," I said slightly embarrassed to admit that to him.

"Fuck," I heard him whisper, his lack of patience becoming evident. "Well let's just say that you between Tim's legs looked like another level," he finished as nicely as possible.

"But I would never! Not with him, not with anyone…" I trailed off as I watched Dally grab his beer and gulp some down.

"We know you're not like that, but Tim is, and none of us felt right leaving you alone with him so we assumed the worst," he said as he put out his nearly done cigarette before lighting another one.

"But why couldn't anyone just tell me that?" I asked.

"I'd imagine because its hell trying to explain it without being crude as fuck about it," he replied bluntly as he came towards the bed and sat down with his back leaning against the headboard.

"Oh," was all I could manage.

"I guess they see you as a little sister and didn't want to put ideas in your head," he finished as he gulped down some more beer and than took a drag of his cigarette. "Look…it's late. Why don't you make yourself comfortable and I'll give Darry a call. You can stay here tonight, I'll take the floor," Dally offered and I nodded all the excitement of tonight catching up with me. Then I gasped which made him sit up quickly

"What?" he asked, suddenly fully alert.

"Your hand's bleeding," I said, not thinking as I moved closer to him and grabbed his hand, holding it up to see how bad the damage was.

"It's fine," he assured me, trying to move his hand away, but I held it tighter, knowing that if he really wanted his hand free he could do it.

"No it's not," I whispered, letting my free hand slide gently over the cuts on his hand. I felt him shudder. "Did I hurt you?" I asked quietly

"Nah, you're fine. I'm…just not used to…" he trailed off, his eyes hooded, looking at me with that hungry gaze that I didn't understand.

"Good…I don't want to hurt you," I said, almost hypnotized by his gaze.

I watched as he lifted his hand up towards my face, caressing my check. A small sigh of pleasure escaped me before I realized, and his eyes seemed to get darker. He leaned forward and stopped right before my face. His calloused thumb caressing my cheek and moving towards my lips, I leaned forward not sure what I was doing when his lips met mine.

I felt his tongue touch my lips in what seemed like an invitation to open my mouth.

I saw stars.


	12. Chapter 12

Toxic Dice, Kristina, Only4Miken, Sara, staceylee1012, vampy08, AngelsXAmongXUs,ForGottenThoughts93, britni1991, won't be the victim, jonna, ShikaKibaShinoGal, katmeows4no1, Shiroi Tora Joshin, FireinmyBlood, Silence Driven, EdwardCullenIsLove

**Thank you all for the reviews. I'm so so sorry I haven't posted until now. My laptop broke on me and then I went on Vacation and just got it back...blah. So I'm really sorry. Expect updates once a week like normal. Puppies and Kittens for everyone who reviews!!**

**SO review!!**

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I saw stars.

Just as I was about to do as his lips asked a loud knock sounded on the door making both of us just jump back. He looked at me for a long moment before heading towards the door.

He opened it and in stepped Tim.

Tension filled the room. I stayed sitting on the bed. My face flushed for our kiss my lips tingling.

"What do you want?" Dally asked

"I just wanted to make sure Rachel didn't need a ride back to the Curtis's" he said glancing at me and taking in my flushed face and my hand touching my lips.

He smirked. Dally saw him smirk, but instead of starting a fight like I thought he just spoke in a deadly calm voice that sent shivers down my spine.

"Leave now or you won't be leaving walking"

"Okay I know when I'm not wanted. If you need anything just come and find me Rachel" he said with a nodded to me and a smirk to dally before leaving. Dally slammed the door behind him.

"I don't want you near him" dally said pacing in frustration

"Why not he seems really nice" I said confused as to why he wouldn't want me to see Tim.

"Just stay away from him" Dally said his voice low as he looked at me with an incredulous look.

"No I won't until you give me a reason" I said standing up, not sure why I was being so brave.

Dally stalked towards me, stopping inches before my face.

"Because your mine" he said before crushing his lips to mine. I had thought that my first kiss was amazing but this was heaven in a hand basket. It was rougher and more possessive then my first kiss just moment before.

His hand snaked around my waste pulling me against him. I began to feel hot. A warm feeling making me shudder as it started to engulf my body my hands clenched his t- shirt pulling him closer. I could feel his chest muscles.

His other hand became firmly planted on my hips, he fingers grabbing my hips in a tight grip. Suddenly the sound of a glass breaking and wetness touching our legs made us pull apart.

He looked at me my chest heaving for air before he walked towards me caressed my cheek and headed towards the door.

"I'm gonna go call Darry you stay here" He said as he opened the door.

"Who's room is this won't they be mad that the beer spilled?" I asked finally getting some conscious thoughts back in my head.

"It's mine" he said and then left closing the door behind him. I fell numbly onto the bed. I was in heaven.

Darry's POV

Rachel was missing. We didn't know how long why or even where she could have gone. I felt really guilty I didn't even try and explain last night to her. I just ran like a sacred kid.

I opted to stay at home and wait while everyone else went out and looked for Rachel we didn't want to alert the police until it was absolutely necessary. They'd ship her out to a girls home so fast if they new.

Suddenly the phone rang; I raced to answer it praying it was Rachel.

"Hello" I said quickly

"Hey dar it's Dally" Dally said

"Hey Dal I can't talk right now Rachel's" I started but was interrupted by him

"She's with me" dally said

"What? Who the hell do you think you are taking her with out" I began to yell but once again he cut me off this time with his tone of voice.

"Shut the hell up" he said in a deadly calm voice. I wasn't scared of Dally but there were sometimes that I didn't question him.

"I didn't take her she snuck out and found Shepard, she was looking for me" dally said

"Why?" I asked not sure what else to say feeling totally floored.

"Shepard brought her to Bucks and she was crying..." I cut him off

"Did he touch her I'll kill him" I said my voice mirroring Dally's

"No she thought you guys hated her and wanted to know what she did" Dally said his voice sum what amused at my anger.

'Hated her? Why would she think that?" I asked

"She said you and soda couldn't bear to be in the same room with her" dally said

"We just didn't know what to say" I replied.

"I know that and she does now I explained things to her" dally said his voice shifting towards uncomfortable.

"Is she okay?" I asked my mind forming a picture of dally explaining such an awkward subject to Rachel a girl who's never even been kissed before.

"Yes she's good, she's sleeping now" Dally said

"Do you want us to come get her?" I asked

"Naw I'll borrow Bucks car tomorrow and bring her home I don't wanna wake her" Dally said with insight I'd never really heard him speak before.

"Okay that's fine" I replied though I wasn't sure how I felt about Rachel and Dally being alone I knew he wouldn't hurt her.

"I'm gonna stay home from work tomorrow" I said wanting to be there when she returned home.

"Naw go to work don't make a bigger deal out of this than it is she's embarrassed enough" dally said

"Uhh okay than are you gonna stick around tomorrow?" I questioned

"Not sure maybe" Was all the answer I got before he hung up.

I was glad to know she was safe. Though I wish she would have just asked us instead of leaving the house and hunting for Dally.

I suppose Rachel might feel something for Dally but I'd think on that later right now I'm just glad that she's safe.

I could hear the boys getting back I hung up the phone and headed towards the living room preparing to tell them that Rachel was safe.

"We couldn't find her anywhere Darry" Soda said sadly

"Its okay Dally just called" I said and watched there reactions

"What did he say?" Pony asked.

"Rachel found her way to Bucks by way of Tim Shepard to find dally" I said

"Why" Two-bit asked

"Because she thought we hated her since we couldn't stay in the same room with her" I said and watched Soda duck his head guiltily.

"Should we go get her?" Soda asked finally

"Naw Dally's gonna bring her back tomorrow morning" I said

"Well we'll be here" soda said and they all nodded

"Nope you're going to work" I directed at soda

"Your going to school and two bit you can come by later but I think Dally's gonna stay with Rachel" I said they all looked shocked

"Look this is a touchy situation and I don't want any of us to make it worse by making it a big deal. Dally explained in all to Rachel and I think we should just move on and not make her return more awkward" I said and watched as they nodded and agreed.

"Now lets all head to bed, its gonna be a long day" I said before locking up and turning off the lights. Watching them all head to bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Dally was taking a long time it felt like he'd been gone for hours

Dally was taking a long time. It felt like he'd been gone for hours. I laid down, trying to digest everything that had happened to me today—

I'd gone out on my own.

I'd met up with Tim Shepard.

A drunken guy had pinched my butt.

Tim had punched the drunken guy.

Dally and Tim fought.

Dally was my first kiss.

Dally was my second kiss.

And I was seeing stars.

I must have drifted off, because I awoke suddenly when the door opened. Dally walked in, toweling off his hair. Shirtless and the top button on his jeans open revealing a trail of hair from his belly button to who knows where.

"What are you still doing up?" Dally asked when he saw me awake.

"I couldn't sleep" I replied, fibbing slightly.

"Do you want me to take you back to the Curtis's?" he asked me, grabbing a fag and lighting it.

"No thanks, I'm fine." He nodded in acceptance. "Do you have anything I could sleep in?" I asked, blushing heavily.

He looked at me eyes wide.

"It's just, these clothes are really tight," I explained, gesturing with my hand to the jeans I'd never worn and the form fitting shirt. I saw his eyes rake up and down me, his eyes darkening.

"Yeah…I think I got something," he murmured, walking over to his dresser and pulling out some clothes. "Here's a shirt and boxers," he said, handing me his clothes.

"Thanks. Where should I change?" I asked

"Well, there's a bathroom down the hall," he offered, and I nodded, going a little pale.

Dally must have noticed because he said, "I'll go with you and wait outside the door to make sure no one tries anything."

I smiled, happy he would do that.

Once in the bathroom, I scrubbed off all the heavy makeup and peeled off my tight clothes. Changing into Dally's much looser clothes, I gave a sigh of relief at the lack of constriction.

I didn't want to keep Dally waiting too long, so I used the restroom and gathered my things, opening the door. Dally turned to me and I watched his eyes look me up and down.

"You look good in my clothes," he said simply in a low voice. I nodded and blushed. "Come on," he prompted, leading the way back to his room.

Once inside, I placed my clothes on his dresser and went to sit on the bed as he locked his door.

Then I watched as Dally pulled a pillow from the bed and a blanket from the closet and throw them to the floor before lowering himself down.

"…Dally?" I asked in a hesitant voice.

"Yeah?" he answered gruffly.

"You can sleep up here in the bed with me. I'll stay on my side and you can stay on yours," I offered, not sure where I was getting the courage to voice my thoughts.

"Nah, I'm good," he replied after a pause.

"Please, I feel weird, I'm not comfortable up here alone," I pushed, not sure where my neediness was coming from. Dally didn't say anything and I thought that my clinginess had disgusted him.

I couldn't bear to look at him. I heard him getting up, moving around, but I couldn't bear to see him leave me alone. I clenched my eyes shut, not bearing to breathe until I was sure he was gonna. I was so focused on not letting my tears show that I didn't hear Dally walking around the bed to lay on the other side until I felt the bed sink in under his weight. I glanced quickly to find Dally lying above the blankets, a cigarette hanging between his lips.

"What's wrong, Rach?" he asked, raising his hand to motion to my tear stricken face.

"I thought you were gonna leave me," I muttered, revolted with the neediness that Dally seemed to bring out.

"Nah. Don't worry kid, I'm not going anywhere," he assured me as I turned to face him. He moved his hands to wipe my tears away I felt like I was floating on a cloud.

"Do you always stay here?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's home," he replied simply, staring off.

"Why did you threaten to hurt Tim the other night?" The question had been on my mind for a while.

"Because I didn't know it, but you're mine and no one's going to touch you," Dally told me, his hand running through my hair. Instead of being upset by his possessiveness, I felt the warm feeling filling me. "I'm gonna borrow one of Buck's cars tomorrow and drop you back at the Curtis's," he said, his hand still stroking my hair.

"Are you gonna stay for a little while?" I asked, not sure why it mattered but praying that he said yes anyway.

"Do you want me to stay for a little while?" Dally asked, looking down at me.

I reached for his hand, clutching it in mine. "Yeah, I'd like it if you did," I murmured, looking up at him.

"Then I'll stay for a little while," he promised, squeezing my hand. "Now let's get some sleep," he said, putting out his cigarette out with his free hand, keeping his other hand still held in mine.

"Night Dally, and thanks," I whispered with a small smile.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being you," I answered.

"Night Rachel," he grinned.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face, my hand still tight with his. I didn't rightly know what exactly was happening between Dally and I, but I wasn't worried. I was more than happy to just let things happen as they did. Because in this moment I was happier than I had been since before my grandmother had passed away.


	14. Chapter 14

I am so sorry about my lack of postings. Don't worry I didn't disapear, I had a family emergency, but now everything is better so here we go!!

Enjoy!!

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I wasn't sure what woke her the light streaming threw the two identical windows placed on either side of the bed of it could be the finger that were gently caressing my side, or it could be the body that the hands were connected to which was firmly plant

I wasn't sure what woke me. It could have been the light streaming through the two identical windows placed on either side of the bed. It could have been the fingers that were gently caressing my side, or it could have been the body that the fingers were connected to, so firmly planted against my back.

Either way, I was content not to move and disturb the wonderful feelings that were filling me.

"Rachel…" Dally whispered, his lips lightly touching my ear. It sent shivers down my spine and filled my stomach with a million butterflies.

"Yes?" I answered, still not wanting to move from my place under his hands.

"We gotta get moving. It's past noon," he informed me, his lips still by my ear.

Past noon. That meant the boys would start arriving home soon and I wouldn't be there. That got me moving—I sat up quickly.

"I figured that would get ya up," Dally said lighting a fag and placing it between his lips. His lips, the same lips that had kissed me last night, not once but twice.

"Is it really past noon?" I asked him, sitting against the headboard next to him, not close enough to touch, but close enough that if he wanted to touch me he wouldn't have to reach.

"Yeah, kid, it is," he laughed with a sideways glance to me. I really wanted to touch him, but I didn't dare try it. What if he didn't like my touch or want me to? What if last night meant nothing to him and he was only riding on the anger Tim's presence had given him?

I wasn't feeling as brave as last night; I didn't have the courage to ask him, mostly because I was afraid of his answer. Last night I had felt happy and content for the first time in a long time and I didn't want to end it.

We just sat there for a long time, neither of us moving to get ready. Neither of us touching each other. I guessed this was how it was gonna be. Last night was a fluke, never to happen again. I couldn't stay here with him—I could feel his presence weighing down on me.

"I'm gonna get dressed," I excused and hurried to my clothes. I was opening the door when his voice stopped me.

"Do you want me to stand outside?"

"No," I assured him hurriedly and raced to the bathroom. That must be why it was a fluke—I couldn't even go to change by myself. He'd never want me; he'd never want someone who was afraid of their own shadow. I started getting dressed in my tight clothes again. I didn't even notice I had started crying until I was full on sobbing. I didn't even know what I was sobbing for. I just knew it was the loss of something, something good with Dally.

A loud knock sounded on the door. I froze—was it Dally or someone else?

"Rachel, it's Tim," Tim answered my mental question.

I opened the door hesitantly and looked over. Tim was in the same clothes from yesterday and looked really worn.

"Tim," I greeted him, wiping my tears. I couldn't stop them from falling.

"Rachel…come on, I'm gonna take you home," Tim announced, gently taking my arm, grabbing Dally's clothes and throwing them on the floor next to his door.

He began to lead me down the steps. My tears were still coming, so I kept my head down, not wanting anyone to see.

Tim led me to the same car as last night still not speaking. He was like my guardian angel, though I was quite sure he wouldn't like to be referred to as that. He didn't speak when he closed my door he just went to the diver's side and started the engine we didn't talk until I noticed that we weren't going in the direction of the Curtis's house.

"Where are we going?" I asked, not scared, more curious. Thankfully the tears had dwindled down to one every so often.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry and I know we ain't got any food at my place, so I'm taking you to breakfast," he replied. I realized then that I was starving. My stomach rumbled, and I started to blush. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and laughed a kind laugh.

We ended up going to a drive through; I'd never been and while Tim must have ordered from the menu, I was content with just a sandwich and a pop.

Once we were done eating, we both sat there silently until he spoke

"Now, I ain't normally one to get in Dally's business, but I like you Rachel. You're a good kid, so you wanna tell me what old Dal did between last night and this morning to make you cry those tears?" Tim asked, not looking at me.

I got the feeling once again that he wasn't normally this nice. "Well…" I started but I stopped, not sure if I should say anything.

"Come on. Just tell me, I won't hurt him," Tim smirked, finally facing me.

"He was my first kiss," I murmured, blushing.

"First, you say? And that was last night?" Tim asked.

I nodded.

"What did he do to upset ya?" Tim asked with a slight edge to his voice.

I didn't understand the tone, but I answered him anyway. "He didn't do anything. That's the problem—what if it was a one time thing? I haven't felt that happy since before my grandma died. But then…when he didn't say anything about it, he took it away." I was suddenly shocked that I had shared that much with Tim, or anyone for that matter.

"Huh…" was all he said.

We sat in silence for a while, both lost in our own thoughts.

"You really are one of a kind Rachel. You're above all of us greasers," Tim declared, looking at me fondly.

I looked at him, absolutely confused.

"Most greaser girls would have ran out and had sex with another guy had Dally done that to them, but you didn't. I never realized just how special you are," he explained. "Now if only you could give some of your wisdom to Angela…" he finished with a sigh.

"Who's Angela?" I asked.

"My little sister. Having her grow up with all us greaser guys hasn't done her any favors," he muttered darkly.

I nodded, not fully understanding what he meant. "Why were you at Buck's this morning?" I asked, suddenly remembering that he said he was leaving last night.

"Ah…well I was on my way out when this pretty little doll came over and—" he stopped suddenly, looking at me closely before finishing. "…and we ended up in her room for the night." The finish was quick and probably not what he'd been about to say. I didn't think I would have liked it, anyway.

"Dally's a hood straight through. He's tuff, worn from the streets. I'm sure you heard about him," he moved on, obviously uncomfortable with the last subject.

I nodded, taking in and storing every word he was saying about Dally.

"He ain't used to feelings, most of the girls hoods are with him just cause they are. But not you. You're special and I know Dally sees it. You think he threatens me about his girl often? Not till you came along." By this time, I was smiling a little.

"You gotta understand—me and Dally aren't good with feelings, especially letting them out. You gotta be patient with him. Don't be afraid to sit him down and demand answers because I hate to say it, but that's gonna be the only way you're gonna get 'em. Hoods like Dally are action people and they think that people can tell what they mean by what they do, you dig?" Tim asked with a terribly uncomfortable expression on his face.

I nodded and smiled, knowing that Tim would probably rather be in a fight than talking about Dally's feelings with me, but I was touched that he had.

"Thanks, Tim," I said quietly.

"No problem, kid. Let's get you back to the Curtis'." He started up the engine.

"What about Dally?" I asked, suddenly realizing that I had left Buck's without telling him I was leaving. I gulped nervously—he was gonna be so mad.

"I'm sure Dally knows you left with me. By now, Buck went and told him, and he'll be at the Curtis'. Much as I like you, I ain't too keen on getting my face smashed in, so I'm just gonna drop you off," Tim said with a smile.

I nodded in understanding—it seemed like every time Tim and I met up with Dally, it ended in a fight. I was silent the rest of the way, building up my courage to talk with Dally.

When we pulled up to the Curtis', Dally was sitting on the front steps with a fag, a beer… and a knife. I swallowed hard before looking at Tim.

"Hey, I already got gutted this week. I'm not looking to do that again," he defended and I nodded, thanked him, and got out of the car.

I closed the door and went turned to face the house, but bumped into someone. Dally was right there, looking murderous.

"Hi Dally…" I started, but he just grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house. Pushing me onto the couch, he began to pace.

"Goddamit Rachel!" he yelled and I flinched. He saw me, but his rage stayed.

This wasn't gonna be good.


	15. Chapter 15

"What do you think you were doing leaving with Shepard" Dally asked me tension filling the room

"What do you think you were doing leaving with Shepard?" Dally asked me, tension filling the room. I could tell that my answer was going to be crucial to everything that was happening between us.

"I thought…you didn't want me anymore." I was honest, and I watched him process my answer…I watched all the anger leave him in seconds.

"Why would you think that Rachel?" he asked, frustration filling his voice.

'You were so different from last night when I work up this morning. I thought that you wanted me gone," I explained, sadness in my voice as I reflected on this morning.

"Rachel. I don't know what to do with you, or how to act. You're not like anything I'm used to. You're innocent and I know I should be running the hell away from you and all this!" he exclaimed, motioning between us. "But I can't. Because every time I think of leaving you, all I can think of is how I want is to be right…_next_ to you!" He slammed his fist into the wall on 'next', leaving a dent. Darry wasn't going to be happy about that.

I was shocked that Dally would be that honest with me and happy that he was expressing what I was feeling. Knowing that I wasn't alone made a world of difference. I would just have to remember what Tim had told me so I didn't go running away when Dally didn't talk about what he was feeling.

I stood up and walked over to him, not thinking just going with what I was feeling. Standing right in front of him, I watched as his eyes became dark and he began breathing heavily, only to realize I was breathing hard, too. My thoughts were cut off when he grabbed me, crashing his lips to mine, his arms going around my waist. I placed my arms around his neck running my fingers through his hair.

He started moving me forward and I followed, not paying attention. I was so involved in the kiss. It was better than anything I experienced last night. We fell back onto the couch, me on top of him. His arms curled around my waist, pulling me higher onto his chest.

My hands began to caress his chest, though his stayed firmly on my waist, never straying. He deepened the kiss and his tongue licked my lips. I pulled back in surprise.

"You okay?" he asked in a gruff voice, slightly out of breath

I nodded and leaned my face towards his, his lips meeting mine halfway. This time when his tongue touched my lips I opened them. Not sure what to do with my tongue, I followed his lead.

Never had I realized that kissing was so much work. Or maybe it was because he seemed to know what he was doing and I didn't want to disappoint. He broke the kiss and kissed right below my ear, making me moan. I'd never moaned before—I hope that was okay. Did people do that during kissing? I'd ask Soda later.

Dally sought my lips again in a bruising kiss that I had a feeling way going to leave a mark. His tongue went deeper, touching my tongue and exploring my mouth. I moaned lightly again causing him to go further in his exploration of my mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" yelled a voice from the door causing us to break apart quickly.

I looked over and saw Darry, Soda, Pony, Two- Bit and Steve all standing there watching Dally and I in shock. Darry looked like he was going to kill us. I turned my head and put it in the nook between Dally's head and neck. Hiding. He slowly reached an arm up so it crossed over my back and rested on my shoulder. Protecting.

I'd never seen Darry so mad. Especially directed at me. Everyone was looking at me like they didn't know me. I felt the tears coming again. It was silent. My tears fell on Dally's skin. I felt him move, and I let go of my hold on him, thinking that he was going to leave me.

"Hold on," he whispered in my ear and I did as he said. I felt him stand up and I wrapped my legs around his waist, not wanting to fall. I felt him began to walk but I still didn't lift my head.

"I hope you don't think you're going into her room," Soda growled in a voice I'd never heard leave his lips before. I held onto Dally tighter.

"Are you gonna try and stop me?" Dally asked. His tone was deadly—never, not even when he was talking to Tim, had I heard that pitch from him. I didn't like what I was doing to everyone—I shivered. He rubbed my back gently.

No one said anything else as we went to my room. Dally set me down on my bed before closing the door. He looked over me and began wiping away my tears with a thumb.

"You've had a rough day kid," he murmured with affection. I nodded—so many things had happened in the last 72 hours that I wasn't sure how to process it all.

"Get some rest. I'll clear this up here, and then I'll be back tomorrow. Okay? Everyone's just gonna need some time to adjust," he promised, still stroking my face. I nodded, loving the feeling of his hands on me. "So go head and change, then get into bed. Do you need anything?" he asked me, so caring right now.

"Could you get me a glass of water?" I asked, not wanting to go out there and face everyone.

Dally nodded and then left, closing the door. I quickly changed out of those tight clothes, knowing that I would probably wear them again when I remembered how Dally had looked at me.

Dally returned moments later with a glass of water. He didn't knock and I wasn't sure what to think about that.

"Get into bed," he ordered gently, setting down the glass and watching as I got under the covers. "I gotta go out there before they break the door down. You all right?" he asked, looking into my eyes intensely.

"I'm not now, but I will be," I replied, grabbing his hand.

He nodded in understanding. Then he leaned down and kissed me, my lips instantly coming to life under his. I licked his lips first and watched him pull back and look at me.

"_Damn_ you make it hard to leave," he laughed, giving me a quick kiss this time, not lingering.

"I'll be back tomorrow, no sneaking out," he smirked. His expression made the butterflies appear again.

I nodded, knowing I wouldn't be sneaking out for a while. He looked at me hard one last time before turning and opening the door.

"Dally…" I said quickly before he could leave.

He turned.

"Will you come back tonight before you leave…just so I can make sure you're okay?" I asked, blushing slightly with embarrassment.

He nodded his head, a smirk once again firmly in place.


	16. Chapter 16

Dally's POV

Dally's POV

I went quickly into the kitchen avoiding everyone's stare I new that we were going to have it out but we couldn't do it now, not with Rachel waiting on that glass of water.

Although I could feel there stares I didn't make a move to interact with them. I didn't know how this was all going to play out and I didn't want Rachel walking out in the middle.

"What the hell's going on Dally?" Soda asked as I was filling a glass with water.

I turned towards the doorway and saw that they had all gathered there, I knew this wasn't gonna be good. But it was worth it, she was worth it.

"I'm getting Rachel a glass of water. Then I'm gonna come out here and were gonna get this going. Then I'm going to go in and say goodbye to Rachel like I promised." I said stating what was going to happen so they didn't think they could try and bloody me up. I wouldn't let Rachel see me like that, not at the hands of her family.

No one said anything while I walked threw them all crowed in the doorway, bumping shoulders with Soda and heading to Rachel's room.

Darry's POV

We all just waited silently until Dally appeared again. I think the shock was still heavy. I don't think anyone planned on walking in on Rachel and Dally ever.

"Someone wanna turn the TV on" Dally said as he appeared from Rachel's room.

"This is just gonna go away Dally, we can't just forget this by sitting down and watching TV" Soda said getting in Dally's face. I watched as Dally's jaw clenched and he took a deep breath.

I knew it had to be killing him not to hit Soda for being up in his face.

"I know that Soda" Dally said his voice shifting to deadly when he said 'Soda'

"I also know that Rachel's still up listening for any loud noises so unless you want her out her, scarring her then someone better turn on the Fucking TV" Dally said his voice barely above a whisper though we all heard him.

I was put off that he cared about Rachel enough to do that. I think it would have been better for him not to say anything regarding Rachel's emotional state then we could all just say he was trying to get in to her pants.

Two- bit moved and turned on the TV.

"You wanna explain what we walked in on Dally?" I asked taking the lead before the situation went from bad to worse.

"I don't know what you want me to say Darry it was exactly what it looked like" Dally said facing me looking me straight in the eyes.

I knew he wouldn't answer truthfully not with all the guys here. But I couldn't make them leave, Rachel was like a little sister to all of use and making them go so I could talk to Dally alone would just fuel everyone's anger.

"It looked like you were trying to get into Rachel's pants" Soda stated seriously as he moved to get in to Dally's face.

I knew that Soda would take this hard. Rachel's his best friend and adopted little sister that he feels he has to protect. Though we all feel that way Soda's known Rachel a lot longer than the rest of us.

"I wouldn't do that to her" Was all Dally said in response to Soda's statement.

"Why not you do it to every other girl" Soda said in a voice I'd never heard from him before and he was my younger brother.

I knew Dally would only take so much abuse from Dally so I knew I had to interfere.

"Soda clam down, don't do anything stupid" I said from my seat in my chair.

"STUPID! Stupid Dally's stupid if he thinks he can do this to Rachel and not get me after him" Soda yelled

"What do you think I did to Rachel?" Dally asked before I could make a rebuttal.

That seemed to deflate Soda's anger momentarily.

"You know what you did to her" Soda said but not quite as anger as he had been.

"Yea I know what Rachel and I did but I wanna know what you think I did to Rachel" Dally asked his voice deadly calm.

Soda didn't answer and I could tell he was trying to think of what to say without insulting Rachel in anyway.

"Why don't you tell us what happened" I jumped in before Soda could find his anger again.

"Rachel snuck out and walked around trying to find me" Dally started

"Why would she do that?" Soda interrupted with scorn in his voice.

"If you want me to finish then you better shut the hell up kid" Dally said fiercely Soda nodded and sat down.

I think he finally realized that even when Dally's in the hot seat you can only push him so far.

"She met up with Shepard and he gave her a ride to bucks, Shepard brought her to me, Shepard and I went at it then Rachel and I went to my room talked little and went to bed." Dally said

"What did you talk about Dally?" I asked trying to figure out what exactly was going on with Rachel and Dally.

"You can ask her tomorrow" Was all Dally said.

"Then I called you and we went to bed" Dally said

"What the fuck where you doing with her on the couch Dally? You think she's one of your whores? Someone you can fuck then leave? Without consequences?" Soda yelled while Steve placed an arm on his shoulder restraining him from going after Dally.

"Look I'm done here I'm gonna say night to Rachel and head out before I smash your kid brother's head in" Dally said to me before turning and walking towards Rachel's room.

Soda jumped up after him, before I could stop him.


	17. Chapter 17

I tried not to fall asleep waiting for Dally to return from "talking" with the boys, but it was hard. All of the new experiences of the past 24 hours seemed to be catching up with me. I was still kind of in shock over it all.

I must have dosed off though because the next thing I remember is hearing Dally enter my room, I sat up quickly my eyes scanning over him for an redness or blood. Thankfully there was neither.

"Hi" I muttered quietly shyness filling me like usual.

Dally didn't respond verbally instead he came over and sat next to me on my bed. I felt myself blush remember what happened last time we were on a bed together.

"How did it go" I asked before mentally slapping myself, for asking such a dumb question.

"Not as bad as it could have" Dally answered me tightly his jaw clenched, guilt filled me, I had caused this.

"I'm sorry" I blurted out before I could process and stop myself.

Dally didn't answer instead he just looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"This is all my fault" I said continuing wondering where all of these words were coming from.

Dally sighed heavily

"No it's not. It's mine and the're right" he spoke softly to me.

"What do you mean the're right?" I asked confusion oozing off me.

"The're right to be upset, I don't treat broads the best" He answered me, though I could tell he'd rather be doing anything but having to talk about this. I couldn't help but feel special he was trying.

"Oh" I replied not really sure how to take his admission.

"They never mean anything to me" He added as though he was trying to reasure me, but if anything his words were making me worry. Did I mean anything to him?

My distress must have been vivid because Dally seemed to pick up on it rather quickly, or maybe it was my lack of reply.

"What" He questioned me watching me intently causing my blush to start again.

"Do I mean anything to you" I asked quietly remembering what Tim had said to me about being tuff and getting answers.

There was a long silence, for the one coming of tears to start stinging my eyes.

"Yea" Dally answered me finally his voice tense his body stiff. I knew that must have taken alot for him to answer so honestly. I felt tears leak from my eyes weather from relief or happiness I wasn't sure.

"Fuck" Dally swore when he saw my tears, instead of asking or giving me a chance to explain, he shot up from my bed and started pacing in my room.

"I..." Started but he cut me off.

"This isn't gonna work" He said his hand moving back and forth between us.

I felt my heart shatter.

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First let me apologize, I'm so sorry that it's taken me this long to update, and I'm sorry that it's such a short update at that. Can anyone tell me if there still reading Lions Den? I'm packed full of ideas but don't wanna continue unless people are still reading.

So if you review I'll have a LONG chapter up by sunday.....

So review if you're still reading and would like me to continue!

Thanks!!


	18. Chapter 18

_Recap:_

_"I..." Started but he cut me off._

"This isn't gonna work" He said his hand moving back and forth between us.

I felt my heart shatter.

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"What?" I managed to get out, his words periced me like a knife. I couldn't help but wonder if this was what Tim had felt like with his knife wound.

"We're to different, I'll hurt you, change you, then leave you" Dally said pulling a fag from behind his ear and lighting it. The only thing I could think was Darry doesn't let anyone smoke in the house.

I just sat there in silence, staring at him, not understanding what was happening. My brian just wouldn't process the words, leaving me frozen until finally I uttered

"You're hurting me now"

As soon as I spoke those words it was like a flood gate opening. The pain of his words washed over me causing the tears to start, until I was full blown sobbing. I couldn't even move to curl myself into a ball. I just sat there staring at him threw my tears.

"Rachel..."He started but was drowned out by my sobs.

I couldn't believe whatever was between us was over so quickly.

I could see his lips moving but I just couldn't focus on what he was saying all I could focus on was this pain in my chest, that none of the fairy tales my grandmother used to read to me had ever included.

I don't know how he moved so fast but one second I'm sitting crying in my bed, the next Dally's yanking me up from my bed my nightdress fluttering awkwardly around me.

My tears had ceased momentarily, I stared up at him in confusion.

"I..." Started to attempt to talk but was stopped by his lips crashing down on me.

I felt as though his emotions were drowning me, every kiss with Dally was different from the last, it was going to take me forever to figure what each meant out.

Though somehow I doubted that this was a goodbye kiss, as his tounge entered my mouth and his hands slide to my hips pulling my tightly against his hard body.

I was in heaven.

We broke the kiss for air, I attempted to speak again only for it to come out a moan, as his lips kissed a spot under my ear making me shiver.

The faint sound of a door slamming broke us apart.

Dally rested his forehead against mine and stared me deep in the eyes.

"I don't wanna hurt you, ever" He said quietly, so quietly I had to strain to hear him, though I was right in front of him still fully pressed against him.

I nodded not sure how to respond, his eye keeping me hypnotized with there intensity.

"I don't want to change you, I want you to stay you" He all but whispered to me.

I nodded again at a loss, knowone had ever said anything remotely like that before. Everyone always had some opinion on how I should fix myself, even if they never voiced it I could see it when they looked at me.

It felt amazing not to have to worry about myself lacking for Dally, it was like a weight removed itself from my shoulders.

I sagged slightly against him, my head tucked in his neck, breathing in his scent. The coolness of his leather jacket washing over my face.

I stood up on my tip toes and kissed his neck, like he'd done to me.

He growled pulling me against him, I melted at the sound.

I kissed his neck again sucking slightly, he growled even longer before grabbing my hair and pull my head back away from his neck and crashing his lips onto mine. Moaning I wrapped my arms around his neck, sighing contently.

Abrutly he pulled away kissing my forehead lightly before sitting me on the bed and standing back.

"We need to slow down" was all he said before walking to my window and opening it before climbing out and leaving.

Snapping out of my stupor I ran to the window

"Wait" he stopped turning to look at me.

"Will you come by tomorrow?" I asked losing my courage and feeling my usual shyness filling me, I could feel my cheeks heat up.

"Yea babe I'll come by tomorrow" He said with a smirk and a wink that made me weak at the knees.

I shut my window locking it into place and floated back to my bed a huge grin on my face. Suprisingly I didn't focus on him trying to end us before we began instead I thought about his words and kisses.

I drifted off happy with the world.

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Darry's POV

I jumped up after Soda as he made to follow Dally to Rachel's room. I didn't like the idea of them anymore than he did but we all needed to calm down and think about this before we go in bashing heads and scareing Rachel.

I grabbed Soda's arm right before he made contact with doorknob.

"Darry wha" He started but I just dragged him back to the living room I didn't want to have this conversation outside her room.

"Soda you need to calm down" I said trying to stay calm and not give into my eurge to go head to head with Dally. I was the adult here I had to keep everyone from getting hurt, and everything falling apart.

"How can you say that Dar, Dally's in there with RACHEL doing who knows what but I'm pretty sure we all have an idea" Soda said getting angry I hadn't seen him angry like this in so long.

"Soda yes Dally is in there with RACHEL but it's still RACHEL do you really think for a second anything beyond kissing is going to go on" I asked my common sense silently praying to appeal to his.

My words seemed to deflate his anger as suddenly as it had appeared.

"Aw hell Dar it's Rachel in there" He stated turning his head towards the hallway.

"I know Soda I know" I said in what I hoped was a comforting voice.

"It's Rachel" He said again quietly

"I know and believe me I'm with you on wanting Dally far away from her. But we need to take breath and figure out how to deal with this" I said my hand scratching the back of my neck feeling wary.

"What do you mean?" Ponyboy asked and for a second I was startled I had forrgotten that they were still here, I'd been so focused on keeping Soda calm, I thought at I looked around there room Two-bit was picking half heartedly at a plate of chocolate cake, Steve was sitting silently on the couch watching Soda and I carefully and Pony was stand in the corner arms folded across his chest.

"I mean that if we go charging in there attacking Dally were going to be the bad guys. This is all new to Rachel she's actually embracing her new life and we don't want to do anything to set her back" I said silently wondering to myself where these words of wisdom were coming from.

Silence decended over the room and I could see everyone really taking in what I had said.

"Jeez Dar I know your right, but did it have to be Dally?" Soda asked his voice full of regret.

"As much as I wish it wasn't, I'm glad it it" I said and I could feel the looks everyone was giving me, as if I was crazy.

"What" Soda asked his voice serious

"Think about it, it's Dally, know one goes against him unless there stupid and he fixes them if they are. As much as I hate to admit it Dally's the only one I don't worry about Rachel being with. Because I know that if anyone tried anything Dally would take care of it. He'd keep her safe, and thats what she needs right now" I answered

"Yea but who's gonna keep her safe from him" Pony questioned his voice low.

"We are" I answered immedeantly

"How" Steve asked

I didn't reply for a second because I wasn't sure what to say.

"Were not going to make a big deal about this" I said finally

"What" Soda questioned incrediously

"If we fight Rachel about this it's going to make her feel alone, like she can't come to us, which will drive her away and thats the last thing we want" I said slowly taking in everyones thoughts.

They all slowly nodded.

"So what are we gonna do" Two Bit questioned speaking for the first time in a while, I knew he had a soft spot for Rachel, she was like his kid sister.

"I'm not sure I've never been in this situation so I guess were going to just take it slow" I said feeling useless at not having the answers for everyone.

They nodded in understanding.

"But whatever we do were going to be watching them carefully. I don't think that Dally would push Rachel, but I want to be in the know about them, because I know Dally won't be talking about what's going on between them, and I for one don't wanna talk to Rachel about this" I said my face forming in discomfort at the thought of talking to Rachel about what her and Dally are doing.

"Yea that's like talking to your parents about it" Two bit said quickly with a sour look easing some of the tension from the room.

I glanced at Soda and saw his face was still heavily set, I waited silently for him to come to a decision.

"You're right, but that doesn't make it easier, I need air" Was his reply before turning and heading out the front door closing it with a slam.

"I'll go talk to him" Steve said jumping up and heading out into the night leaving the rest of us in silence. I sat down in my chair sighing heavily, I felt like I'd aged twenty years today.

"I'm gonna go visit Johnny" Pony said suddenly startling me out of my thoughts. I was going to object it was to late to be walking alone, but before I could voice the words Two bit jumped in.

"I'll go with him Darry don't worry" Two bit said and a look of understanding passed between us.

I nodded and Pony jumped up and headed out the door Two bit following leaving me in silence.

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Soda's POV

I left the house I couldn't stand to be there knowing I couldn't protect Rachel by getting Dally the hell away from her. Rachel's always been the sister I never had, so innocent it was hard enough when her grandmother died and she had to enter our world, but knowing Dally was speeding the process along made me mad.

But Darry's right if I make a big deal about this to her it would push her away and that was the last thing I wanted.

Steve followed after me as I left the house, we walked for a while, neither of us talking both just lost in thought. I'm not sure how long we walked but when we eventually did make it back to the house all was qiuet and peaceful, unlike what I felt. I didn't want to go inside right away so I opted to stay out on the pourch Steve again followed my leave and sat with me.

Still neither of us spoke, but it was a comfortable silence.

Suddenly my attention was drawn from my thoughts as I saw a person walking from the side of the house. I knew instantly that it was Dally.

"Dally" I called out before the smart part of my brian could stop me.

He stopped walking and turned I could see he was on the defensive as soon as he saw it was me. I stood up and headed towards him, Steve on my heels making sure I didn't do anything stupid.

I just stood there looking at him, trying to surpress the anger I felt.

"You hurt her and I'll kill you" I said finally after a long silence my voice deadly serious. I realized I'd never said something I meant more than that before in my life.

Dally didn't reply he just looked at me, assessing me silently, which normally would have made me nervous because it's Dally the toughest hood I've ever met. I could feel Steve waiting for the explosion to errupt from him, Dally was known for his temper, and confronting him head on with threats wasn't smart on anyones part.

"I hurt her and I just might let you" He said quietly before turning swiftly and disappearing into the darkness that filled the night, leaving me dumbfounded my jaw practically on the ground.

I glanced at Steve to see his reaction and saw it was the same.

This just got alot more complicated it seemed that Dally had true honest to god feels for Rachel.

Aw shit I couldn't help but think and I turned swiftly to head back into the house I need sleep, so much had happened today that I felt like I was on over load.

Know matter how hard I tried I couldn't think of anything else and one thought just kept replaying in my mind over and over like a broken record.

Dally has true honest to god feelings for Rachel.

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Pony's POV

The walk to Johnny's was quiet at first not even Two bit could believe all of the drama that had gone down I think.

"Wow" Was all he'd said the whole time we'd been walking.

"I wanna tell Johnny about Rachel and Dally" I said breaking the silence.

"You sure that's a good idea Pony" Two bit asked seriously

"Yea he don't talk about it when you guys are there but he does with me. He knows Dally took what happened to him hard. I know he obsesses about it more than he tells me I just think he'd be happy to know that Dally's getting better" I said giving more details than I had planned to.

"Getting better?" Two bit questioned

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, ever since you guys ran into Shepards gang and Curly grabbed her and Dally told everyone she's his girl, he's been better. He stopped picking fights with random hood and Soc's he stopped drinking as much and going threw girls" I said thankfully relieved that it had played out this way. I didn't think Johnny could take the death of Dally, which was what I had been silently fearing would play out until recently.

"Yea I guess I wasn't paying to much attention to him lately" Two bit said lightly

"That's because normally you're with him when he's drinking and fighting" I said with a smirk

"True" Two bit answered with a grin

"I'm thinking about asking Rachel to talk to Dally about Johnny, see if maybe she can get him to come visit Johnny for a little I know it would make his week" Pony said after a comfortable silence.

"I don't know Pony" He said to me quietly

"Why not" I asked stopping quickly and turing to face him

"I'm just not sure if I would put her in the middle like that" He answered rubbing his neck like Darry did when he was stressed.

"How so" I questioned

"If you ask her to talk to him about it, she probably won't give up until he goes which would cause strain between them which will cause Dally to go out and o something stupid which will all but kill Rachel" he answered and I was shocked by his insightfulness

"wow that's really good" I said in awe

"I have my moments" was all he said as we continued on to Johnny's house.

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Well for my first real chapter being back without my beta looking at it I hope I did okay! Let me know, I can take any flames, as long as there gentle lol. Thank you all so much for your reviews!!! Please keep them up!! If you do I'll post another chapter by wed!!! SO EVERYONE REVIEW!!! lol thanks again


	19. Chapter 19

_Okay so here goes I'm back though I can't promise how regular my updates will be and I'm sorry for that. Thank you all __**SO MUCH**__ for all your well wishes and prayers for my dad and my family you have no idea how much it meant and still does mean to me. _

_So on with the chapters, _

_Thanks again EVERYONE!_

_Please remember to review!!_

_**Oh and this chapter will be all in Ponyboy's point of view!!**_

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The rest of the walk to Johnny's went without any trouble, but Two-bit and I remained silent the rest of the way, both lost in our thoughts or at least I was.

I knew that Two-bit was right about asking Rachel pressure Dally; it would kill Rachel, damage Dally, and hurt Johnny. But I also knew that Rachel was the key for Dally to finally come visit Johnny.

I understand that I can't ask right away from what I'd observed whatever it was that was going on between Dally and Rachel was knew.

My thoughts stopped when we finally got to Johnny's, none of the lights were on in the front so we jumped over the fence and headed for Johnny's room. We'd done this enough that it was almost as natural as breathing.

Thankfully Johnny's light was on which meant he was up, normally when I came over late I'd give advance warning during another visit or even call so Johnny would make sure to be up so my trek over here wasn't all in vain.

I tapped lightly on the window, Two-bit standing behind me, still oddly silent.

I watched as the curtains parted slightly and Johnny's face peeked out before breaking in to a smile, Johnny opened the window before wheeling back to give us space to heave ourselves up into the window frame and into his room.

Once we were both firmly in I watched Two-bit close the window before flopping lazily on the bed, I moved and sat on the corner of the bed facing Johnny.

"Pony what are you doing here so late? I didn't know you were commin tonight" Johnny said with a smile.

No matter how many times Pony heard Jonny's voice I could never get used to the slight pitch change from inhaling all of the smoke and breathing in low amounts of embers from the fire. The doctor's were just glad that he could talk they hadn't been concerned with the change. I knew I shouldn't care but it was a constant reminder of what they had been through.

"I woulda waited for tomorrow but I knew you'd wanna know right away" I said with a grin Johnny was always impatient when it came to news on Dally, he couldn't help it, to Johnny Dally could do no wrong.

"Oh? What's doing?" Johnny asked and I watched the puzzled look on his face, I'd just been here yesterday and filled him in on everything, and I knew he was wondering what could have happened to make me come unannounced in the middle of the night.

"Remember how I told that Rachel, our old neighbor, moved in with us once her Grandma died?" I questioned wanting him to be caught up on the exact details before I dropped the bomb.

"Yea the broad who doesn't talk and is like a nun" Johnny said with a smile and a nod. He'd never actually met her, Johnny had been so shy before the fire and Rachel was just shy period that it was impossible to get them too met, though he'd seen her from afar.

"Well what I didn't mention was that Two-bit and Rachel got into a small incident with Curly Shepard, Curly grabbed Rachel and then Dally stepped in and told him to let her go." I said watching Johnny's eyes widen he knew Dally better than anyone and knew that was totally out of character for him.

"Then what happened?" Johnny asked me eagerly sitting forward slightly in his wheel chair.

"Well we all hoped that Curly and the others would lose interest and forget about Rachel so Two-bit went to talk to them, but they were really interested in Rachel because Dally stood up for her" I said seriously

Johnny nodded in understanding it was never good to have the attention of Curly Shepard and his gang.

"Well then Dally flips out on Rachel because he's so frustrated about what's going, he leaves after I stop him and comes back later with a bloody lip and bruised and cut open knuckles. Saying that he told everyone that Rachel was his girl and if anyone had a problem that they would have to go threw him" I said with a smile I was proud of Dally for doing that, he didn't have to we all knew he was rather self serving, that act alone should have been a giveaway for what would eventually happen.

"Then what I know that's not the end you wouldn't come here just to tell me that what happens, what happens?" Johnny asked pleading with me to continue. Sometimes I wondered if Johnny's idolization of Dally was almost fairy tale like, always the good guy, he could do no wrong kinda thing.

"Chill Johnny I'm getting to it okay so I told you Tim got real cut up and landed on Rachel" I paused waiting for Johnny's affirmative nod before continuing.

"Well we all had work and school and left Rachel home alone with Tim, and told her not to go near him. I'm not exactly sure what happened but Dally walked in and attacked Tim, the next night Rachel left and went to find Dally at Buck's with Tim's help, she stayed over, came home today and they were on the couch making out." I said summarizing it quickly

"Wait, what" Johnny questioned shocked

"Yea" Was all I could say thinking the same thing.

"What did everyone do?" Johnny asked with excitement

"That's the part I couldn't wait to tell you, instead of just blowing Rachel off like he does with other girls he picked her up and took her to her room, got her a glass of water, and then came back out to have it out with us." I said replay the day in my head.

"What, wait, really" Johnny asked totally in awe.

"Yea and the weirdest part was that when he came out of Rachel's room to have it out he made us turn the TV on so she wouldn't hear the fighting" I finished

"You think Dal really likes her?" Johnny asked his voice small

"I think so, I know he's a rebel and all but I can't see him shooting the hand that feeds him, I mean if he hurts Rachel, he knows were done with him, Rachel's family"

"Yea I just can't believe Dal actually fell for a broad" Johnny said with a smile.

"I know, it's insane, it's Dally and Rachel, there so different. Dal's been around the block a lot and Rachel won't even walk the block" I said causing Johnny to burst out laughing which made me smile, since the fire his laughs were few and far between.

"That's a good one Pony" Johnny said regaining his breath holding his side

I nodded

"It's so weird I always thought nothing could tie down old Dal, you know" Johnny said quietly.

"I know I think we all thought that including him, which is what makes it so funny to watch, it's like a movie there's so much drama and a touch of humor you never know what's going to happen next" I said thinking of how I would have never in a million years expected to walk in and find them kissing.

"You think they'll last" Johnny questioned me seriously

"I don't know part of me thinks they will but the other part knows when Dally get's in new situations and the pressure gets to him he tends to lash out" I answered.

"You think they'll be breathing down his neck" Johnny asked seriously knowing Dally's habit for lashing out and doing stupid stuff.

"Yea I don't think they'll exactly mean to, well maybe Soda will, but the rest won't but I think it might start to get to Dally, he won't be used to it, he might just forget it" I said worriedly

"That's kill Rachel right" Johnny questioned me and I answered with a grim nod

"I mean I don't want her with Dally anymore than anyone else, but Dally's done her some good, she's living or at least trying to, I mean she went to Buck's to find him, she went alone, she's stepping out of her bubble. I'm just worried that if he gives up and the bubble pops she's retreat and never try again" I said my forehead wrinkled in concentration.

"I know what you're saying Pony, but you gotta trust Dally, he wouldn't do that to her, he knows what she's like before they ever got together or whatever, so don't be thinking he'd do her wrong. Though it might take him a little before it actually all comes together in his mind, it'll all work out, I know it" Johnny said with more optimism then I'd seen since the fire I couldn't help but smile back even though my mind was still unsure about everything.

"I was thinking about talking to Rachel, about coming for a visit with Dally" I blurted out Johnny froze before answering.

"Listen Pony, you're my brother you're the smartest guy I know but, don't push Dally on this. He'll come when he's ready and not before." Johnny said sadly serious

"But Dally's being a coward" I said before I could stop myself I visibly saw Johnny stiffen.

"Dally ain't know coward, he knows what he's doing and what needs to be done and he'll do it but not a minute before you got that PonyBoy Curtis?" Johnny asked his eyes flashing with anger; I wasn't used to this side of Johnny, though I've never bad mouthed Dally in from of him either.

I nodded yes.

"Good now I'm not mad and you can still come over tomorrow as planned but I think I need to get some sleep I have PT in the morning" Johnny said with a smile, all traces of anger gone.

"Okay I'll see you tomorrow, sleep well" I said before standing and glancing over at Two-Bit who was fast asleep on the bed. No wonder I forgot he was there he was so quiet.

"Get up Two-Bit" I said smacking his head, he sat up instantly.

"What?" He asked in a daze

"Come on were going home" I said with a laugh as I climbed out the window and Two-bit followed falling on his butt, still waking up.

"Hey Pony" Two-bit said after a little bit of walking

"Yea" I answered back

"Did we really walk in on Dally and Rachel sucking face or was that some kinda twisted dream?" Two-bit asked and I couldn't help it I laughed so hard I almost go tears in my eyes.

"Nah it really happened" I answered finally as I began to catch my breath once again heading for home.


	20. Chapter 20

_Okay thanks you all for your reviews!! Now let's begin!!!_

_The next chapter will be ALL Rachel and Dally goodness!!_

_**Oh and this is back to Rachel's POV!**_

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The next morning when I woke up I couldn't stop the feeling of dread that began to fill my body. I'd have to face them all today and explain exactly what was happening with Dally and I. The only problem with that is that I didn't know for sure what was happening with us, we'd never talked about it.

We'd only kissed two days ago, though it seemed like 2 years ago with everything that had happened between then and now. We hadn't had the time to really talk about everything, but I decided that when he came over today we would talk about it.

Getting up quickly I grabbed my clothes and peeked out my bedroom door making sure both sides of the hallway were clear and the bathroom door opened, before I hurried in to it.

Closing the door gently I leaned back against it taking a deep breath, I needed to stay calm, yes today was going to be bad, but Dally would be over sometime today and tomorrow would be better, I couldn't help but silently pray.

After my shower I felt a little more relaxed than I had when I had first woken up, deciding it was now or never, I opened the door and made my way in to the family room.

I was surprised to see only Darry there.

"Hi" I whispered not sure what his reaction would be to me.

"Hey Rach" Darry said looking weary.

"Where is everyone" I questioned hesitantly trying to delay the inevitable talk that was heading my way.

"I sent them out, we need to talk" Darry answered though he didn't sound angry rather a little bit upset.

I nodded before heading out to the porch, Darry followed me out silently. I sat down on the front steps and folded my hands together in my lap; I honestly didn't know where to start so I chose to remain silent for the time being.

"Rachel I'm not mad about what happened yesterday, shocked is a better way to put it" Darry spoke solemnly

I nodded in understanding not sure what else to do.

"I've been thinking about this all night, what to do, what to say and nothing I practiced seems right" Darry continued running his hands over his face.

I nodded as a feeling of guilt ran through me; I hated myself for putting Darry in this stressful position.

"The truth is I've never been in this situation before, I've never had to protect a little sister, so I'm not sure what to do, what to say, or how to act" Darry said his gaze fixed on nothing as he stared out.

"Yea" I replied tired of just nodding

"I don't know if I'm suppose to try and forbid you from seeing Dally, band him from the house, and beat him up or if I'm suppose to let you do your own thing and ignore what's happening between you too." Darry said slowly

"You can't band him from the house you're his family" I said my heart breaking at the thought, but not for myself, but for Dally, this was his safe haven of sorts he couldn't lose it.

"I know that and that's why I'm choosing the middle ground here. You can see Dally, Dally's still welcome here, but if you go out you have to tell me and I'll give you a time to be back. I won't beat him up unless he hurts you, but I want to be in the know on your relationship. You're not like the other girls and even though I'm nowhere near a girl I want you to talk to me about what's happening" Darry finished with an unhappy look on his face at the prospect of girl talk I couldn't help but smile lightly.

"Okay" I responded nodding in understanding.

"Now has he pushed you to do anything" Darry asked his voice strained and his face becoming flushed.

"Pushed me? No all we've done is kiss and his hands stayed on my waist the whole time" I said with a smile remember those kisses. There might not have been that many but each of them was more memorable than the last.

"Really" Darry questioned surprise evident in his voice

"Yea he's been a real gentleman" I said fondly with a dreamy smile

"Are you sure we're talking about the same person Rachel" Darry asked teasingly

"Yea I am" I said with a small laugh

"Last night when he came into say goodbye we were kissing and he pulled away saying we needed to slow down" I spoke quietly feeling rather exposed to tell Darry that, but feeling that he needed to know.

"Hmm" Was all Darry replied to my statement

"Hmm what" I couldn't help but question

"It's just that Dally isn't exactly known for stopping" Darry said slowly and cautiously

"I know that" I replied with a smile

"How" Darry questioned in surprise

"Soda, when he would come over and see me at my grandma's he'd tell me all about everyone and let's just say there was never information lacking on the subject of Dally and girls" I said with a small frown

"Well at least I know I don't have to beat him up right away" Darry said his voice laced with what I would call relief.

Though I'd never seen Dally or Darry fight before, Soda had said they had both been in rumbles, Dally more than Darry but I hoped with every fiber of my being that I would never have to find out who would win between them. I knew that if they fought there would be no going back to normal unless I was permanently out of the picture.

"So we'll just play everything as it comes, because I have no idea what to expect, but I want you to know that whatever happens you can talk to me and don't have to worry about my reaction. I love you Rachel you're the little sister that I never had and wasn't sure I ever wanted" Darry said with a smile and laugh

"Well gee Darry I know I never wanted a brother like you" I replied teasingly with a smirk

"Whoa you need to stop seeing Dally now, that smirk was eerily like his" Darry said his voice full of shock and humor

"What can I say I learn from the best" I stated with a smile.

"I think I'm gonna head in now, let me know if you end up going anywhere" Darry said standing up quickly looking towards the road, confusion filled me as I followed his gaze and saw the reason for him leaving.

Dally was making his way to the house.

I stood up quickly but instead of walking towards Dally I turned and gave Darry a hug which he returned.

"Thank you Dar for everything" I said quietly before heading down the steps to meet Dally.


	21. Chapter 21

Read&review!!! Please!!

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I waited until I heard the front door close, signaling that Darry had gone into the house before heading down the steps to meet Dally.

I met him half way down the path to the house, I was unsure how to greet him, was I suppose to just say hi? Or was I suppose to kiss him? Offer a handshake? Thankfully Dally made the move by pulling me to him and giving me the sweetest kiss, it was gentle and soft but full of passion. It made me weak at the knees as Dally's arm made his way around my back pulling me closer.

I sighed softly as the kiss continued, becoming deeper and more intense. I could feel the warmness begin to fill my body and didn't want to stop; I wanted this bliss to continue. Slowly Dally pulled away causing a whimper to escape me making me blush heavily and causing him to smile.

His forehead came to rest against mine his free hand moved slowly to caress my cheek, though I was sure I would have preferred to continue kissing, I couldn't complain, because any contact I had with Dally was heavenly.

"Hey" Dally said softly with a smile and a quick peck on my lips causing my lips to move forward again and try to reclaim his.

"Rachel we need to keep things slow and I can guarantee that if we continue we won't be stopping for a good long while." Dally said with a smile his eyes filled with fire.

"Okay" I said agreeing with a pout causing Dally to groan at the sight

"Damn Rachel for someone so innocent you sure know how to make my self control nonexistent" Dally said in a slightly frustration tone though he didn't pull away from me.

"Sorry" I said impishly not truly sorry at all

"God I know your gonna be the end of me" Dally said with a smile

I smiled back at him before giving him a quick peck on his lips

"But what a way to go" Dally said before pulling me closer, if that was possible, and reclaiming my lips his tongue seeking entrance to my mouth, causing me to moan with pleasure. At hearing the moan escape me Dally moved his hand down to my butt and pulled me tighter against his private area, which was rock hard against mine.

I gasped from the new sensation, I'd never experienced anything like this, and Dally had always kept our private regions apart and now I can understand why, but I couldn't stop the rush of pleasure that went threw me knowing that I did that to him.

"Rachel we need to stop, now" Dally said bringing both hands to my face and stroking my cheek kissing me quickly before stepping away, leaving me cold from the loss of him.

I nodded silently heading back over to the porch and sitting down trying to quell the heat that had filled me and was screaming for more. I watched as Dally began to pace slightly while pulling out a fag and lighting it, all the while playing with the lid of his lighter, opening it and closing it.

I'd noticed Dally did that often when uncomfortable or trying to calm down, it was like a safe guard for him I thought with a smile.

Dally finished his fag and came to sit with me on the porch I couldn't help but lean into him and I surely could help the rush or satisfaction and pleasure as his arm came around me pulling me closer.

Moments like these were perfect; they cast all of my worries away and made me feel safe.

"Dally can I ask you something?" I said after a few moments of silence

"Yea" Dally answered his arm still around me

"What are we?" I asked quietly part of me dying to know what we were, the other part terrified to learn the truth.

Silence filled the air around us and I began scolding myself for messing up a good thing with stupid questions. Maybe I was supposed to know what we are already; maybe it wasn't normal to have to ask the definition of a relationship.

"Never mind" I said slowly as I stood up and out of Dally's arms before turning towards the door. All I wanted right now was to make it inside without crying.

Just as my hand touched the doorknob Dally's hand came down and wrapped itself around my wrist spinning me around to face him.

My breath caught in my chest as I watched Dally study me slowly, taking in every detail.

"Your mine" Dally said right before I was sure my heart was going to explode due to anticipation.

"I'm yours?" I questioned my breath hitching slightly as I spoke

"If you want to be you are" Dally said and I watched his eyes become guarded at my response before he turned and started to head down the steps away from the Curtis's house.

I stood in shock for a few seconds the reasons for his hasty departure not quite connecting in my brain. Dally was taking my 'I'm yours' as a rejection response instead of me echoing his answer back to make sure he meant it before I went and got excited.

I had to fix this now.

"Dally" I called out quickly making my way down the steps towards him. He'd stopped when I called out to him but he was still facing away from me.

"Dally" I spoke once again this time with more urgency then before and he turned around facing me his face showing nothing, much like the first time I'd met him, his eyes stone cold not showing any of the previous warmth they'd held for me moments before.

I hugged him quickly my arms going around his neck my lips right near his ear while I was standing on my tippy toes. Dally's arms stayed motionless at his side his body hard and unwelcoming in my arms.

"Dallas Winston I want to be yours forever" I said into his ear before placing a kiss on his neck while starting to remove my arms from around his neck.

I didn't get far as I felt his arms wind around my waist pulling me roughly up against him. I looked up into his eyes and saw the guarded look was gone replaced with something that I couldn't quite name, but it filled me with warmth regardless.

"I want you to be mine forever" Dally said to me before his lips crashed roughly onto mine.


	22. Chapter 22

I woke up to the sun streaming onto my face. Again, memories from the night before when Dally was here rushed to me, filling me with happiness.

Nothing could ruin my mood today.

I decided to do some cleaning and make a few meals ahead of time so I could spend more time with Dally and less time working around the house.

Before we'd said our goodbyes last night Dally had promised to come over after dinner tonight. I couldn't help but wonder what it is that Dally does all day that would keep him occupied till after dinner…maybe I'd ask him tonight.

I also needed to make time for Soda. Lately since he found out about Dally and I our friendship just hasn't been the same as it used to be. But he had been, and still was my best friend—I just had to show him that I hadn't forgotten about him.

I was just about to start vacuuming when a knock at the door drew my attention. Wiping any dirt I'd already acquired onto my skirt, I went to answer the door.

Opening it, I was rather confused. It was a girl maybe a little older than I was, but the confusing part was that I'd never met her, or even heard about her from Soda. Random people had been coming and going since I moved in with the Curtis's, staying only long enough for me to remember them vaguely, but I'd never seen this girl before.

"Hello…?" I said first, not totally sure how to address this girl. She wasn't smiling and didn't really look all that friendly. Her facial expression reminded me exactly of the first time I'd seen Dally—tough, almost frightening.

"Is Dallas here?" the girl asked with major attitude I wasn't sure how to take—all I'd done was answer the door and say hello.

"No, he's not here right now, ummm…?" I trailed off. I didn't know her name, and I was unsure what, exactly, to call her.

"Sylvia," she prompted, filing in the blank I'd left.

"Okay, well…I can tell him next time I see him that you stopped by," I smiled, trying to be polite.

"Do that," she said in a clipped voice full of attitude. I couldn't help but wonder what her problem was, and if it with me or just everyone in general.

"Do you want me to tell him anything? Like…why you want to see him?" I asked, hoping I'd get a clue to how she knew Dally.

"I don't need a reason to see him," she sneered, "He's my _boyfriend_."

"Your…boyfriend?" I repeated without thinking, shocked by this new piece of information.

"Yeah, why? You got something to say about it?" she asked in anger. A light seemed to come on in her head, and… "Has he been seeing someone else behind my back!?" she yelled at me, eyes wild, "I'll kill her! Who is it?! Who's the slut who's been seeing him?" she hissed.

"No one," I answered quickly.

"No one." Her tone clearly said she didn't believe me.

"I just didn't know Dally had a girlfriend. None of the guys mentioned it, I'm sorry," I lied through my teeth for my own stupidity. I just wanted her gone.

"Oh! Okay, well just tell him I'm looking for him…?" she said, more nicely than she'd spoken this whole time.

"Rachel," I supplied automatically.

"Okay, thanks Rachel. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other seeing as Dally's over here all the time," she said with a kind smile.

"Yeah…I'm sure we will," I replied. But all I could think was that this girl had some major mood swings.

"We'll I'll see you later, Rachel. Don't forget to tell Dally I'm looking for him," she reminded as she began to walk down the front porch steps and onto the sidewalk.

"I'll tell him…" I said, my body numb and my voice mechanical as I closed the front door and stumbled to the couch.

Dally had a girlfriend. _Sylvia_ was Dally's girlfriend…and she was tuff like Dally.

Dally had a girlfriend _no_ _one_ told me about. Not even the Curtis's told me about her! …How could no one tell me?

That explained where he is all day—with his girlfriend. And _she_ was Dally's girlfriend. Which meant Dally wasn't mine. He was hers.

I was the other woman. He cheated on her—his _girlfriend_—with _me_.

I was the slut Sylvia was looking for.

And I wasn't Dally's. She was.

Because she was his girlfriend, and I wasn't.


	23. AN PLEASE READ

Okay I know this isn't a chapter and I'm sorry. Has anyone ever heard the saying bad things come in three? Well they do.

On the 21st of last month my bother died from a massive heart attack.

I'm getting over broncitis and the flu because I let myself get worn down to much (the doctors words not mine)

My laptop battery died so I'm waiting on a new one, the next chapter is on my now dead laptop.

I'm updating from my dads laptop, but I didn't save the next chapter on a USB outside sorce because I just got my laptop in november of last year and it shouldn't have died yet.

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I promise I'll try and update as soon as possible. Please bear with me.

Thanks you all!


	24. Chapter 24 NEW CHAPTER!

Okay thank you all for your support when I was going threw such a horrible time. Here is an extra long (long for me at least) Chapter. Which I hope you all enjoy. Let me know if you all are still reading and enjoying. I know it's been a while. But I'm back, I just need to know you all are too…..

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Shock had taken me over after Sylvia left. I barely remember sitting myself down so I didn't collapse. I just couldn't understand how no one, not even the Curtises, my new _family,_ had told me that Dally had a girlfriend.

…Did they all think I was too weak to handle it?

Was this why Soda hated the idea of us dating? Because he was looking out for me, because he knew Dally already had a girlfriend?

I wasn't sure what to do. I could wait until Darry or Soda got home to ask them. Ponyboy was probably going over to Johnny's again, so I couldn't ask him.

Or I could wait until Dally came for dinner tonight.

But how was I supposed to know if they were telling me the truth? They had obviously, for one reason or another, forgotten to mention her to me in the first place.

I was tired of all this drama, tired of doing nothing and taking everyone's word for the truth. I wanted to find out for myself what was really going on, and not wait around for someone to tell me their idea of the truth.

Getting up from the couch, I headed toward my room. I could do this. I could be the strong one. I could find the truth out for myself. I rummaged through my closet, looking for all the clothes that the Curtis's had given me, the ones that were tight and revealing like a greaser girl should wear.

I was going to find out the truth.

I had to find out who was lying to me, and who I could trust.

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The outfit I picked out, tight jeans and a shirt that showed my shoulders off, almost made me lose my courage. But I knew I could and would do this. The world my Grandmother raised me in had one rule that was never, ever broken. Family doesn't lie to you.

I had to find out if the Curtises knew Dally had a girlfriend.

I pulled my hair back in at tight pony tail and actually used a lot of makeup. I mirrored my image after Sylvia, but I couldn't bear to make everything the same. My shirt wasn't as revealing, pants not as tight and my make up not as heavy.

Leaving the bathroom after the last check and pep talk, I headed out the front door and just started walking. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to find the truth. I figured it would come to me after some walking.

I didn't know how long I'd been walking, but my attention was pulled to a group of guys standing around a car in a driveway. For some reason, the car looked really familiar.

That's when it clicked.

It was Tim's car.

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I don't know why I didn't think of Tim to begin with. He'd never lied to me. In fact, he'd been totally straight with me from the start. I stopped walking and searched the group of guys and the mixture of girls for Tim.

I found him with a girl on his lap, going place I'd only dreamed of going with Dally.

I really didn't want to interrupt that. It was going to be so embarrassing for both of us, but I had to. I was on a mission.

Taking a deep breath, I started walking across the lawn towards the porch where Tim was seated. Both he and the girl were fully clothed, but they didn't look like they'd be that way for long, and they seemed to be connected at the mouth.

How did they do that and breathe?

Before I could make it to them, one of the guys stepped in front of me, stopping my progress to Tim.

"Whatcha doin' here, doll?" he asked, tuff and strong, but not totally disrespectful.

"I need to talk to Tim," I said, without a quiver of fear in my voice.

"Eh…he's kinda busy," he chuckled, nodding at Tim and his entertainment.

"I know. I can see that. But I need to talk to him. _Now_," I said, terse and firm.

"What's your name doll face? I'll see if he _wants_ to see you," the greaser said with a smirk. I got the feeling a lot of girls came looking for Tim.

"My name's Rachel. I'm Da—" I stopped suddenly. I didn't even know if I was Dally's girl anymore. "Just tell him Rachel Curtis needs to talk to him." I noticed my voice wasn't as convincing when I didn't have Dally's name to drop.

"Curtis, eh?" he asked, looking me up and down.

I nodded but didn't speak.

"Okay doll, I'll go ask him," he complied before jogging over to Tim and whispering in his ear.

Thankfully, Tim remembered me and wasn't too upset. He stood quickly, dumping the girl on the ground. She got up and slapped him, and was then led away by the guy who had questioned me.

Then Tim made his way over to me.

"Almost didn't recognize you all dressed up," Tim drawled with a smirk.

"Hi Tim," I said, giving him a friendly wave.

"What's goin' on, Rachel? I didn't think you were one for leaving the house alone," he murmured seriously, ducking down to search my eyes with his.

"I need to talk to you alone. If you have the time," I said quietly, looking down.

"Sure, sure. Of course," Tim answered, before grabbing me by the back of the neck and leading me into the house. I saw him make a quick motion to someone, but I didn't understand what it meant.

"What was that?" I asked curiously.

"The guy who stopped you he's like…my right hand man. I told to him to leave us alone." Tim said quickly.

I looked around the house. It was a little messy, but nothing like the Curtis' house had been when I first moved in.

"So, what's doin?" Tim asked, pouring two glasses of lemonade and bringing them over.

"Thank you," I said quietly, accepting the glass.

"No problem. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable," he invited, and so I sat down on the couch, watching as Tim did the same.

"Okay. So what's going on?" he pressed again.

I thought for a moment how to answer him. "Tim…you've never lied to me before, right?" I asked, looking him straight in the eye. Hopefully I would be able to catch a lie, but I wasn't sure.

"Nope," he replied crisply, "So tell me what's going on."

"Today while I was cleaning, a girl named Sylvia came to the door and said she was Dally's girlfriend. I need to know if she was telling the truth," I admitted timidly.

Unexpectedly Tim started laughing loudly. I began to blush, thinking he was laughing at my question. "_Hell_ no she wasn't," he finally said when the laughing stopped, making me feel better.

"So I'm not the other woman?" I asked. Things were starting to look up.

"Nah, you're not. Let me explain," Tim sighed. "Dally and Sylvia used to date way back. But it was more of a hate than a love thing. They fought all the time, then they'd break up, and then get back together. It was a huge mess for everyone involved," Tim said with a laugh. "The last time they broke up, Sylvia moved with her grandmother three towns over because Dally said he was done with her and never wanted to see her again," he grinned.

"Why did they break up?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Sylvia decided to sleep with everyone she could behind Dally's back and make him look like a fool," Tim said with a ghost of a grin. "I mean, don't get me wrong. When they would fight, Dally would flirt and sleep with his share of girls. But it's one thing for him to do it, and another for her to. Guys started picking fights with him because he couldn't keep his girl in line," he chuckled.

"So Dally's slept with a lot of girls?" I asked, getting a little red.

"Um. Maybe you should talk to Dally about that," Tim said faintly, trailing off and looking away.

"But you just said…" I started.

"Yeah, I did just said. But I didn't mean to. You need to talk to Dally about it, because I don't need him angry with me because I said some stupid things to you," he explained shortly.

"I won't mention you, but I'll talk to Dally…eventually" I said shyly. "So I don't have to worry about Sylvia?" I perked up at the thought, feeling all my worries dissolve.

"I didn't say that, Rachel. One of the reasons Dally and Sylvia always got back together was because she didn't stop until she had him back," Tim said somberly.

"So…what does that mean?" I asked, biting my lip.

"That means that when she finds out that you're with Dally, she's not gonna stop trying to get back with him until you put your foot down, fight her, and win," he sighed.

"Fight her? Are you sure?" I asked suddenly worried and scared beyond belief. I didn't know how to fight! …Could girls even do that?

"She's tuff, Rach. She was raised on the streets just like the rest of us. She won't stop until she either has Dally back, or you make her stop," Time said, softly and with regret.

"Oh…" I said quietly, looking down.

"Rachel? Look at me," Tim said and I focused on him. "It comes down to this. Do you want to give up Dally and let him and Sylvia get back together? Or are you willing fight for what you and Dally have?" Tim asked me seriously.

"I don't wanna give Dally up," I said, without even having to think about it.

"Good. Then I know who can help you," Tim grinned, standing up and heading to the staircase behind the sofa we'd been sitting on.

"Angelina! Get down here!" Tim shouted up the stairs.

"What do you want? I'm grounded, here! You're ruining my life!" Angelina announced, storming down the stairs.

"Angelina, meet Rachel. Rachel, meet Angelina. My darling little sister," Tim said with a smile.

"Wait. Rachel as in Dally's girl?" Angelina asked, a sweet smile spreading over her face.

"Yup, Angie, she's Dally's girl" Tim grinned.

"Not to be rude. But why am I here?" Angie questioned.

"I have a deal for you," Tim said, and I just sat back and watched without the faintest idea of what was going on. "Angie, Sylvia's back," he said grimly.

"God! I hate that whore!" Angie instantly, said causing me to blush at her choice of words.

"Sorry about her, Rach," Tim apologized with a tired smile.

I nodded. There was nothing I could really do about it, what there?

"So, the bitch queen is back. What's that to do with me?" Angie asked her brother, crossing her arms and cocking a hip.

"The deal is, you teach Rachel to fight so she can beat Sylvia, and you won't be grounded anymore," Tim answered simply.

"Hmm," Angie said looking me over. I got the distinct feeling she wasn't impressed with what she saw.

"Well?" asked Tim, glancing at me.

"Okay," Angie answered with a shrug.

"Great," Tim grinned.

"Let me go change, and we'll get started," Angie said, running up the stairs, presumably to her room.

"See? Everything's gonna be fine," Tim said to me with a calm smile.

"How long was she grounded for?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Six months," Tim replied offhandedly, but with a distinctly sly grin.

"Oh." Suddenly, I doubted everything about this situation. _I'd_ do anything to get out of a half-year grounding, even if I knew it wouldn't work out in the end.

"Rachel, you can still back out is you want. But if you do, you may not have Dally in the end. Is it worth it for you? Do you still want to be with Dally?" Tim questioned me seriously.

Yes, I thought, I wanted Dally and all that came with him. With all my heart. I nodded yes. I could do this.

I would do this.

Because I didn't want to lose Dally. Ever.


	25. Chapter 25

_Hello all sorry for the delay in updating!_

_Italic's are flashback_

This chapter may be one of the longest I've ever wrote, but I'm not sure. Please read and review! I love reviews they make me smile and put me in a writing mood! So review and I'll update sooner, I promise!

Enjoy!

The last week had been the hardest week of my life. It went way beyond anything I'd ever tried to do, anything I'd ever imagined doing. It went beyond…everything.

Angie, as she insisted being called, had walked me home after my chat with Tim.

"_Are you going to tell them?" Angie asked as we walked slowly back to the Curtis's house. Neither of us was in a hurry, as we had too much to talk about._

"_Tell who?" I questioned without thinking. I didn't have many "thems" in my life—I should have known the answer instantly._

"_The Curtis's! Are you gonna tell them you plan to fight Sylvia?" Angie asked again, incredibly patient with me. _

"_No," I said instantly, without a trace of doubt._

"_That's probably for the best…they'd try and stop you," Angie said quietly._

_I knew she was right. I loved my new family and they only wanted what was best for me, but they would try and talk me out of this at every turn._

"_You know you're going to have to lie to them right?" Angie questioned with a sigh and a glance at me._

"_I know, and I've never done that before, but I have to they wouldn't understand why I have to fight her. They just wouldn't get it," I said, sadness creeping into my voice._

"_Are you going to be able to lie to them, convincingly?" Angie wondered aloud._

"_I don't have a choice," I said with a miserable finality in my voice._

That's what I'd been doing all week. I did my chores in the morning right after they all left for work or school. I told Two-bit I didn't want him around in the mornings because he distracted me. I'd felt horrible after telling him, I'd seen the quick flash of hurt in his eyes, but he'd agreed.

Gone were the days of getting extra sleep—after I finished my chores Angie came over and we practiced fighting. I don't know what I had assumed we'd use to practice…but I never imagined we'd be fighting each other.

I had bruises on my knuckles from practicing with Angie, bruises of all colors and shapes on my arms, stomach, and legs, my backside hurt beyond belief from all the knock-downs I'd taken from Angie. I'd taken to wearing long shirts and pants to cover my marks. I even had a bruise on my cheek that I covered with heavy makeup, and I even wore it to bed, in case someone came to check on me.

I avoided the Curtis's at all costs. I cooked their dinner and put it in the fridge, but I was in bed, or at least my room, by the time they all got home. I told them I was sick and I didn't want to be disturbed. They knew something was going on with me, they just didn't know what.

"_She's not acting right, Darry, something's wrong with her," Soda said one night as I crept silently out of my room towards the bathroom._

"_I know Soda, but what are we supposed to do until she asks for help?" Darry said with a sigh. "We can't force her to tell us if she doesn't want to, that won't fix a thing." _

"_Maybe everything's finally catching up to her," Pony said quietly. _

"_What do you mean, Pony?" Soda asked, sounding shocked. _

"_Well she's been doing really well, talking, socializing, her relationship with Dally… maybe it's all too much change too fast, and it's just catching up to her. I mean, she didn't really have time to adjust. We kinda just threw her into our lives and expected her to float. Maybe it's all catching up to her and she needs time to adjust," Pony said with wisdom beyond his years._

Darry and Soda had eventually agreed with Pony; they all thought I need time to adjust and didn't want to rush me, so I was left alone.

The biggest heartbreak I was dealing with since I agreed to train with Angie was Dally. He came by every day wanting to see me, and every day Darry told him I wasn't seeing anyone. He tried to come by during the day, but I locked the doors and hid with Angie in my room until he left.

He'd talked to Darry numerous times, but I was never able to listen. I was too afraid of being caught. I was grateful to Darry, though, for keeping him away. I knew it had to be hard to turn down his friend for me, but he did it over and over again without fail, when even I felt like caving in. I'd known it would be hard to do this to Dally, but the reality of it was so much harder than I'd thought.

"_What are you going to do about him?" Angie asked after a hesitant pause, after we finally let ourselves out of my room from another bout of hiding. _

"_I hadn't thought about that," I answered quietly._

_Dally was a fighter, born and raised. He would probably see the signs of fighting that showed on my body, ones the others missed. Plus, I was still upset he hadn't mentioned his ex, and because of that, I wasn't sure how much I wanted to see him. _

"_I don't know, but I don't think I'm gonna spend a lot of time around him," I answered eventually and I felt a pain in my heart as I said the words._

I didn't realize then how much I would miss him. I wanted to see him so bad, but I couldn't. I didn't know if I could lie to him.

Today, when Angie came over, she told me tonight that we were going to watch a fight between these two rival gangs. She said I needed to see how a real fight went.

When evening came, I got dressed and opened my door a crack, listened for noises. They were all still out there, laugh and joking about something. I knew I couldn't leave through the door. I walked over to my window and opened it. Taking a deep breath, I went out the window, landing hard on the ground. My body groaned from all the bruises I already had.

I started down the sidewalk, my body throbbing, but I ignored it, remembering what Angie had said when I'd complained about the pain.

"_Look Rachel. We're not doing this for fun. Do you think I _want_ to do this?" Angie asked anger radiating off her._

"_No. I know you don't," I answered quietly._

"_Were doing this because you want Dally to stay yours. And has that changed?" Angie questioned._

"_No," I replied._

"_Then shut the hell up. Every time you feel the pain, think about Dally and how much you want him," Angie said fiercely. _

So that's what I did now. I thought about Dally and how he made me feel, how amazing I felt around him.

After Angie told me about the fight that we were going to watch, I'd gotten worried what if I run into the Curtis's, Dally or god forbid Sylvia.

"_The Curtis's like fights, but only when they're in them. Plus they're worried about you, so I don't think any of them will be there. But if you're seriously worried come over to my place early and I'll dress you up so you won't stand out so much" Angie said hardly concerned at all._

"_Dally I'm not sure about, but Tim thinks with you not seeing him that he'll be a Buck's getting drunk."_

"_Sylvia won't be there she likes to party not watch people beat the hell out of each other."_

I finally arrived at Angie's place. I rang the doorbell and Angie answered on the first ring. Grabbing my arm, thankfully not on a bruise, she pulled me in and rushed me up stairs.

"What's going on?" I asked, concerned something had changed.

"Nothing, we just have to hurry, Tim said he'd give us a ride since he's going, too, as long as were ready in half an hour," Angie said hurriedly, shoving me into her room.

"Oh," I replied, feeling a little better—we wouldn't be walking this late at night.

"I already picked out your outfit," Angie started, "Hurry up and get dressed so I can do your hair and makeup."

It took a while to do the hair and makeup, but afterwards I looked like a normal greaser, not a mute orphan. I wasn't comfortable in the least, but I couldn't help but wonder if Dally would like me better this way.

"Come on, hurry, Tim's home, we gotta go!" Angie babbled, grabbing my arm again, this time right on a bruise, and pulling me down the stairs. I didn't say anything. I just bit my lip and thought about Dally.

I missed him so much.

It seemed like it was only seconds but suddenly we were at the fight, which was in a park filled with greasers. If I had been nervous before, then I was one hundred times worse when we actually got there.

The fight went quick. Tim stayed by us for the most part—occasionally he would walk away, but he kept his eyes trained on us. I didn't think that was because of Angie. She could handle herself. I felt he was watching us because he didn't want anything to happen to me

Because then, he'd have to deal with Dally.

The fight was fierce—they just kept throwing punches at each other. They didn't back down. I wasn't sure even with Angie's training if I could do that. My worry must have shown on my face, because suddenly Tim was beside me.

"Angie wanted you to see a real fight, but you should know your fight with Sylvia won't be like this. It won't last near as long," Tim said, trying to comfort me.

I nodded.

Suddenly Tim tensed beside me. I looked up at him, tearing my eyes away from the fight.

"Dally," Tim said quietly.

"What? He's here?" I questioned, looking around, but I was too short to see around the crowd.

"Yep," Tim said, becoming tenser.

"Did he see you?" I asked, my voice full of worry.

"See us, you mean. He's coming this way; move," Tim said grabbing my arm and taking me away from the crowd watching the fight. Angie noticed our movements and began to follow us.

"Tim." Dally's voice was like ice. Tim stopped.

"Dally?" Tim said his voice unsure.

"Someone better explain what's going on. Now." His voice was dead and cold. I desperately tried to meet his eyes, but they were trained on Tim. I realized suddenly why Tim had moved us away from the fight. So we didn't draw a crowd.

"Dally, look. I can explain everything," Tim started, but stopped when he saw Dally's continued hateful glare. This was getting bad—really bad. I had to do something. Tim had only been trying to help me.

"Dally can we go back to your place? I promise I can explain everything," I said suddenly, causing both Tim and Dally to focus on me. Dally's eyes softened slightly but then became ice cold again.

"Fine. Tim, you're driving us." Dally spoke and his word became law. Tim nodded quickly and grabbed my arm again.

"Tim, you always joke about fighting Dally, why are you so…" I trailed off not, wanting to say 'scared' but unable to think of another word.

"That's just shit we do, fuck with each other, neither of us get hurt to bad. But this…this is Dally furious, and sometimes he lets go and can't stop himself. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that." Tim said quietly, and I understood.

Dally had been in jail for almost beating a man to death, among other things. That must have been a time like this.

"Rachel, if you're not with him you better walk beside me," Dally said from behind us. Both Tim and Angie froze. Tim slowly let go of my arm and kept walking. They continued to talk quietly with each other.

I turned and walked back toward Dally. I started to say something, but was stopped suddenly but Dally's voice.

"Not now," Dally said grabbing my arm very tightly, right on a bruise, causing me to whimper slightly.

As soon as the noise escaped from my lips Dally froze, turned and looked at me, his eyes softening slightly again. This time they stayed that way. He removed his hand and continued to walk. I quickly followed. When we got to the car, Tim was in the driver's seat, Angie in the back. They both looked tense. Dally motioned me into the back and sat in the front passenger seat. Tim started the car and we were off.

Tim drove faster than I'd ever seen him drive. He stayed tense on the wheel. We arrived at Buck's, where Dally rented a room, in minutes—or at least it felt that way.

Dally got out and motioned for me to follow. As tense and dare I even say scared Tim and Angie seemed to be, I couldn't feel an inch of worry. I knew deep down that Dally wouldn't hurt me.

Or at least I hoped.

"Angie?" Dally said, speaking into the car.

Angie looked up, eyes wide.

"You know where my room is?" Dally asked, his voice sending chills down my spine. I had never seen him so cold, so cut off from his emotions.

Angie nodded.

"Take Rachel up there, would you?" he commanded, throwing her his key.

Angie caught it and got out of the car, reaching for my hand and pulling me away from Dally and Tim. I really wanted to stay, to say something to stop Dally from hurting Tim. It was like Angie could hear my thoughts, because suddenly she stopped and spoke quietly to me.

"Don't. Just…don't."

Then she continued to drag me towards Buck's. I kept glancing over my shoulders—Dally and Tim were facing off. Suddenly Dally threw a punch that clipped Tim right in the jaw. The punch held so much force that Tim almost flew back onto his car. I turned my head quickly. I didn't want to watch what happened next.

Angie rushed us up the stairs and into Dally's room. I took a second to look around. It was exactly the same as the last time I had been there.

"Rachel, I'm so sorry this happened," Angie said, and I could hear how sorry she was. I felt bad.

"Angie, this isn't your fault. You and Tim were just trying to help me and I'll tell Dally that. I'm gonna tell him everything," I said, suddenly certain.

"Good luck," Angie said with a deep sigh.

"Thanks." I was trying not to become nervous.

"I'll swing by the house tomorrow to see what happened. If you need to get away from Dally tonight just have Buck call us. I'll call the Curtis's and tell them you're staying at my house, but you're gonna have to explain to them when you go home," Angie said.

I nodded. I could hear someone stomping up the steps, and instantly I knew it was Dally. Angie became nervous again.

"I gotta go check on Tim," Angie said quickly, handing me Dally's key before leaving the room.

I let out a deep breath—how could all of this turn out so badly? I walked to the window and looking out. I felt someone watching me and turned.

Dally stood in the doorway, looking very angry. He closed the door and slipped off his jacket before opening the beer I hadn't noticed he'd brought up.

"Is Tim okay?" I couldn't help but question.

"Rachel…right now you don't want to be mentioning him to me, you better just start explaining," Dally said, his voice all edges. I knew I had to tread carefully—he thought I was with Tim.

"I don't even know where to start," I said. So much had happened this week, so much had changed.

"How about why you're suddenly friends with Angie? Or why you have been saying you're sick to everyone? Have you been sneaking out to see Tim the whole time? Or why you were at the fight? Why are you dressed like that? Rachel, _what_ is going _on_ with you?" Dally asked his voice rising with each question.

And suddenly, I knew I had to start with Sylvia.

"About a week ago someone swung by the house. It was Sylvia, asking where her boyfriend was," I said, and I watched Dally take in the words before slamming his fist into the wall in anger.

"So what? You thought I was cheating on you, so you cheated on me with Tim?" Dally yelled in anger, the pain from punching the wall not even fazing him.

"No. I wanted to know if _you_ were, so I went to ask Tim. I didn't know if I could trust you or the Curtis's, so I asked Tim. He's never lied to me," I said quietly.

"I've never lied to you either! Why couldn't you just ask me?" Dally asked his voice pained from my lack of trust.

"Dally, you have to understand," I said taking a step towards him causing him to take a step back.

"Understand what?" he questioned, his voice low.

"Ever since I can remember, anytime Soda told me about you, long before my Grandma died, it was always about the trouble you caused, the girls you would see, that you saw them, sometimes more than one at once. But when we started this," I said moving my hand between Dally and I, "I took a chance. I figured since there was no reason to doubt you I wouldn't."

I took a deep breath. "But when she came to the door, I was crushed. All the fears I didn't let enter my head before did and I didn't want to lose you. I was afraid the Curtis's would try and protect me even if they had to lie, so I went to Tim." I finished with a wavering voice and looked at him.

Dally was standing, leaning against his dresser, beer in hand, head to the side, not watching me, simply processing my words. I couldn't believe everything was crashing down around me—I felt so lost. I wrapped my arms around myself, wishing they were Dally's arms.

"Go on," Dally said, and I could have screamed, knowing how badly this was all going.

"Tim told me about you and Sylvia and your history and how she always stopped at nothing to get you back. Tim said that if I wanted to keep you as mine I would have to fight her," I said tears slipping down my cheek.

"Who said I want to be yours?" Dally asked cruelly, suddenly, and I bit back a sob that rose up in my throat. He sighed loudly. "Continue."

"Tim got Angie to agree to help me train. So I did my chores in the morning and Angie came over during the day. I told Two-bit he was distracting me and not to come over, so me and Angie practiced, and then at night I said I wasn't feeling well, and everyone left me alone." I spoke quickly, not allowing myself time to cry in between words.

It felt like an eternity before Dally spoke again. I couldn't stop the sobs that kept rising, though I tried.

"What I don't understand is why you didn't just come to me about all this," Dally finally said, sounding exasperated.

"Because I wanted to be a normal greaser girl like the kind you normally go for, and they would be able to take care of themselves," I answered honestly. I didn't know where all these answers were coming from, but they felt true to me.

"Why would you think I would want them? Don't you realize it's what makes you different that attracts me to you the most?" Dally said quietly, looking down.

"Why didn't you ever say that before?" I asked instantly, outraged.

"I thought it went without saying," Dally said, finally looking at me.

"I did everything so I wouldn't lose you and now when it's all crashed down, I lost you anyway," I said hopelessly, as the tears began to start again.

"I just need to think" Dally said suddenly standing straight and heading for the door.

I couldn't watch him leave, so quickly shut my eyes tightly, all I head was the bedroom door slam and my tears began again.


	26. Chapter 26

I didn't know how long I laid there on Dally's bed. I just know the tears never stopped.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to leave and call Tim. I didn't think that would be a good idea, though, with Dally so mad at him. I thought about calling the Curtis's to come get me, but I knew deep down I needed to stay and find out where Dally and I stood.

Eventually I fell asleep. Even though it wasn't the most peaceful sleep I'd ever had, it had taken some of the waiting away. I didn't get up to try and find Dally; I stayed on the bed. I knew that if I went and found Dally, I'd be pushing him and he might lash out at me. I knew he'd kept his temper in check when we'd talked earlier. I could feel the anger radiating off him but he'd only lost control once…

"_Who said I want to be yours?"_

I believed deep down that if he didn't still care about me he would have told me to leave. All I had to do was to keep waiting for him to come back. I fell back asleep, but when I woke up again, Dally was back taking his shirt off, beer in hand. I sat up instantly.

"Dally—" I started, but he cut me off.

"Rachel, not tonight," he answered tiredly.

"O-…okay," I said unsurely.

"Just go back to sleep," he murmured.

I lay back down, trying to get comfortable; I was still in Angie's tight greaser clothes. I thought about asking Dally for something to change into, like I had the first time I'd been here, but I decided against it. Dally seemed to have cooled down, but I wasn't sure where we were at and I didn't want to set him off again.

Suddenly something was tossed on me—I reached for it and realized it was the shirt Dally had been wearing.

"I know you can't be comfortable in that getup," Dally said from across the room before taking a swig of his beer.

"Thanks," I said quietly. I could have started to cry again—Dally wanted me to be comfortable. He still cared.

"Do you want me to stand outside the bathroom for you, or can you just change in here?" Dally asked me quietly.

I looked around. The room was dark. Dally hadn't turned the light on when he'd entered. I decided I would just change in here; I didn't want to make Dally stand outside the bathroom.

"I'll just change in here," I answered softly.

Dally didn't reply, he just moved towards the other side of the bed and moved to lie down. I stood up and walked to the corner where Dally had just moved from and turned with my back facing him. I took my shirt off and put Dally's bigger shirt on, I unhooked my bra and took off my jeans. Angie's clothes were just way too tight to be in at all. I felt kind of bare in only Dally's shirt and my underwear.

I placed my clothes on Dally's dresser and then headed back over to the bed. Lying down stiffly on the bed. I couldn't help but feel tense. This was nothing like the last time I had been in Dally's bed. It felt wrong.

"Will you relax?" Dally said suddenly. He'd been so silent I thought he might have fallen asleep. But glancing over at him I saw he was sitting up in bed, smoking a cigarette and still sipping on his beer. I couldn't help but blush, knowing I had changed in the room and he had been awake.

"I'm sorry. I'm just…nervous, I guess," I said without thinking.

"Rachel…" Dally trailed off.

"Never mind," I said quickly, turning my head.

I laid there trying to relax, taking deep relaxing breaths, and beside me, Dally sighed loudly.

"Come here," he commanded resignedly.

"What?" I said, not sure if I had heard right.

"Come here," Dally said again, plain as day.

I sat up and scooted over beside him, not sure what to do next. Dally laced the arm that was holding his beer around me and pulled me against his bare chest. I let myself be pulled, wanting to be as close to Dally as I could, not knowing how much time I had left with him.

"Now _relax_," Dally said and I did. Being against Dally felt like home.

We laid there in silence my head on his chest, I could here him inhale his cigarette and swish his beer around before taking a sip.

I was so comfortable I almost fell asleep, but then Dally spoke.

"When I was downstairs this girl tried to kiss me," Dally said offhandedly, and I tensed and could feel the tears forming in my eyes again.

"Oh," I said, knowing that was all I could manage without letting out the tears.

"I realized that everything may be fucked up, but I'm not ready to lose you yet" Dally said, his voice soft.

"Really?" I asked, feeling the hope reignite.

"Yeah. But that doesn't mean we're fine. You didn't trust me, you lied to the Curtis's, lied to me by lying to them, and you tried to be something you _thought_ I'd want instead of just asking me," Dally said his voice strong.

"I know but—" I started, but he cut me off.

"No, you listen, I talk. You already said your piece, and I listened," Dally interrupted, and I stopped speaking.

"You can't just do things that affect me without talking to me. I don't claim to be the most talkative person, but I do know that you're someone that I don't want to lose, and we have something that I don't want to ruin. So if you promise that you'll talk to me, and that we can work on shit, I'm willing to give us another go," Dally said, holding me close.

"Thank you," I said suddenly my arms going around his bare chest in a hug, my tears falling onto his six pack stomach.

"No problem, kid," Dally said, like he used to, with maybe a ghost of a chuckle.

"Did you know Sylvia was back?" I couldn't help but ask after a moment silence where my hand caressing his stomach while his hand moved up and down my back.

"I did," Dally said softly.

"Where you going to tell me?" I asked just as soft, not wanting to ruin the mood.

"Yeah. Why do you think I was at the Curtis's every day? I didn't want you to hear it from anyone else," Dally said.

"Oh," I said, feeling like an idiot. I should have just trusted him.

"We'll talk more tomorrow. Just get some sleep. I don't know about you but I'm worn out," Dally said before taking the last sip of his beer and setting it on the nightstand.

"Me too. I cried too much today," I said without thinking.

"Yeah," Dally said in frank reply before tightening his arms around me as he lay down.

"Night Dally," I said softly, my body pressed against his.

"Night kid," Dally said, softly kissing my forehead.

I sighed peacefully before falling into a deep sleep.


	27. Chapter 27

I woke up the next morning to bright lights streaming through the curtains, which made my head pound even more from all the crying the night before. I looked over to where Dally should have been, but his side of the bed was empty.

Sighing, I got up and put on the outfit from last night before laying back down, waiting for Dally to come back to his room. Then I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, Dally was gently shaking me awake.

"Dally?" I murmured groggily as I stretched and sat up.

"Yeah, Rachel. We need to talk," Dally said seriously.

"Okay," I replied, sitting up in bed and instantly becoming awake.

Silence descended. As I watched, Dally begin to pace from across the room. I felt dread begin to fill me up, but I just kept repeating to myself 'he wasn't willing to lose me yet'.

"I called the Curtises and told them you were with me. You're gonna have to explain to them what you've been up to," Dally said, looking over at me as he stopped pacing momentarily.

"Okay," I said, nodding lightly. I really didn't want to explain to anyone what I'd been up to, but I knew I had to.

I waited as patiently as I could for Dally to continue—he obviously had something he wanted to say. I was just worried what that something would be. It couldn't be anything that bad, since we'd talked last night.

"Look, kid, Darry thinks we should have some space from each other for a while," Dally admitted finally.

Instantly a thousand different thoughts and feelings raced through my mind and I had no idea what to say. "No. He can't do that," was eventually what I came up with.

"Rachel—" Dally tried, but I cut him off.

"No! He can't do that; who does he think he is?" I shouted, standing up and beginning to pace.

"Rachel," Dally tried again, but I didn't listen to him. I was so angry at what Darry was trying to do.

"He thinks he can control us?" I said, flinging my arms out forcefully. I hit the edge of the open door and cried out in pain, clutching my hand to my chest. The haze of anger started to fade as the pain from my hand filled my mind.

Dally reached me in two strides. Placing his hands on my upper arms, he steered me backwards until the back of my legs hit the bed and I automatically sat, before he reached for my hand and began checking it for damage. I sat there on the bed watching him, and I could still feel the butterflies that he had always caused fluttering in my stomach.

"Dally, he can't keep us apart. I won't let him. I'll sneak out or something—I won't let him keep us apart—"

"Rachel…I agree with him," Dally said quietly. I flinched back, ripping my hand from his. The throbbing returned instantly, but I ignored it in favor of just staring at Dally, feeling utterly betrayed.

"How can you agree with him?" I asked, tears stinging my eyes. "You said last night you weren't willing to lose me yet! Were you lying? How could you…" I trailed off as sobs finally overwhelmed me and I gave in, collapsing down onto my knees still cradling my hand to my chest.

"Rachel, listen to me," Dally said, kneeling down in front of me.

I nodded through my tears and looked up at him.

"I wasn't lying last night when I said that. I'm not ready to give you up," Dally said. Hope filled me. "But I think this all happened to fast for you," he finished gently.

"Wha..What do you mean?" I asked, stumbling over my words.

"Rachel, your life has flipped so much in the past few months. With your Grandma dying—" I flinched— "And starting to live with the Curtises I think it's all…too fast. You've lost yourself and you need to find you again," Dally explained.

"I haven't lost myself!" I tried to argue as I thought back on the last few months—

Living with the Curtises…Meeting all their friends…Going out in public…

Meeting Dally…Falling for Dally…Kissing Dally…

Dressing different…Learning to fight…Lying to the Curtis's…Sneaking out…

Not talking with Soda, my best friend…

Worst of all losing my Grandma, the one constant in life…

"Rachel?" Dally said, grabbing my attention. "I fell for the girl who was so shy she could barely speak, who blushed at bad language, who dressed like a nun, who didn't lie, and was so unsure of the outside world it made me smile. I fell for her and you lost her, but I still want you because you're you. But you need to find yourself and decide what you want. Find who you want to be, not who you think I'll want," Dally said softly as he gently stroked my cheek before pulling me from the bed and gathering me into a hug.

We sat there on the floor for what felt like forever, Dally holding me and letting me cry into his chest.

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**So I had change the direction I put up last chapter and for the longest time I couldn't figure out how to do it! Sorry it took forever! Please read and review!**


	28. Chapter 28

The drive home was silent.

Dally said all that needed to be said.

I didn't know what to say or how I should be feeling.

My first relationship was over before it actually got started, I felt like such a failure.

I'd lost my grandma, who'd been my rock in life, I'd lost Soda my only friend in what had been my small world. I'd lied to the Curtis's who had taken me in, but most of all I felt like I lost myself because of what I'd believed Dally wanted.

The problem was I wasn't sure how to find myself let alone know who I was anymore.

So much had changed which caused my entire life to shift.

I was so afraid if I looked at myself in a mirror I wouldn't know the person staring back.

How was I going to find myself when I had never felt so lost and alone except, when my Grandma and parents had died.

"You okay" Dally asked quietly as we pulled up to the Curtis's in one of Buck's cars.

Looking at the house I'd been living in for months I found that I still couldn't call it home, it was still someone else's now more than ever I felt like an _outsider._

"Yea...I'm okay" I said trying not to let my inner turmoil show. After all it wasn't Dally's fault I'd become a stranger to myself.

I didn't want him to feel bad after all this was my fault, so I would have to deal with it myself; I had no one else for support.

Dally didn't reply but I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't bring myself to look at him directly because I was to afraid I would start crying again and this time I would not be able to stop as I did in his room.

"Come on I'll walk you up" Dally said after a moment of silence.

I watched as Dally got out of the car walking around to open the door for me.

I nodded not sure what else to say at this point as Dally gently reached for my hand and held it tight as we walked up to the Curtis's porch the reality of the situation landed on me.

I'd lost Dally; possibly forever if I couldn't find myself, even then there were no guaranties. Why would Dally want someone as messed up as me?

I almost collapsed right at that moment as it began to sink in. This might be the end of Dally and I forever!

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**First off I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update. No I haven't forgotten my story and yes I will be updating more I promise. I'm already working on the next chapter so it should be up in the next week or so. Please Please please continue reading don't punish Dally and Rachel because I'm such a horrible author.**

**Also this chapter has not been edited by my beta. I emailed her today but I wanted to post this as soon as possible so everyone didn't think I forgot about my story.**

**Thank you!**

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**Thank you Purple Soap for pointing out the different POV that I did. Honestly what was I thinking lol! So sorry everyone! **


	29. HELP PLEASE!

Hello all my loyal readers!

First off this is not a AN saying I'm no longer writing. I'm just stuck on my stories. I'm asking for help. I'm looking for someone who reads my stories that doesn't mind knowing what might happen. I need someone I can bounce ideas off of. I don't want a 'yes' man or woman I want someone who will flat out tell me ' that idea sucks' .

I have limited time because of my job, I just recieved a promotion and knowing that I'm stuck on the next chapter doesn't help when trying to take time to write the next chapter. I want very much to finish my stories and I may only need help for this chapter, I'm not sure. I'm terribly stuck on this chapter and can't seem to see beyond it.

If anyone is willing to help that would be amazing! Please let me know you can private message me or review me or email.

Thank you all for sticking with me. Your reviews mean the world. I hope I'm able to find someone and mmove past this terrible block and continue writing for the stories you love!

Love Nocturnal Rose


	30. Chapter 30

Three weeks. 21 days. 504 hours. 30240 minutes. Since I'd watched Dally walk down the Curits's front steps and into Bucks car.

I wasn't sure if Darry asked Dally to stay away or if Dally did so on his own but he hadn't been by the Curtis's once in three weeks. Not even for a quick visit.

I was, as of now, no where closer to finding myself than I was three weeks ago. I'm still so confused.

Soda still isn't speaking to me. Darry grounded me, but I think he feels bad because he keeps offering to stay home so we can do something or take me out after he's done with work.

But I declined. I'm not ready to face the world. I know Tim and Angelna have both been by looking to find out what had happened that night. Darry sends them walking, and when they try to come by during the day I simply ignore them.

I'm too lost to explain anything.

I miss Dally. That is the one thing that I am certain of, I miss him so much it hurts sometimes.

"Rachel you around" Darry yelled coming threw the front door, I could hear him taking off his work boots so he didn't mess up my clean floor.

"Hello Darry" I said as I made my way from my bedroom I was about to question what Darry was doing home so early, and it was early it was just past noon, when Darry spoke again.

"Rachel I got the call!" Darry said excitement radiating from him

"You got the call? That's great" I told Darry having no idea what call he was talking about. But it felt nice to share in someones obvious excitement.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Darry asked me with amusement.

"No Sir" I said with a smile.

"The call about your schooling. Our request to have you continue at home as an independent study has been approved" Darry said with a happy grin.

"Really? Oh, that's amazing Darry" I said and quickly dove in for a hug.

I had always loved school. My grandma had taught me everyday until she died and although not all of the subjects were fun the memories bought a smile to my face.

My Grandmother I needed to talk to her.

"Darry, can you take me to my visit my Grandma I really need to talk to her." I asked shyly,

In all the time that had passed, I had only been to the cemetery for the ceremony. Never again.

"I'm sorry Rachel, we need to head to the school building today and get all of your assignments for your independent study." Darry said with a worried look

I nodded in understanding. It made sense that's why Darry was home early.

"Maybe I can call and reschedule" Darry said as he started walking towards the phone.

"No, don't do that. I'm excited about school. I know I'm grounded but am I allowed to go tomorrow morning after I wake up?" I asked Darry shyly.

Darry paused with the phone in his hand a thoughtful look on his face.

"Yea Rachel that's fine. Do you want me to get Two-bit to walk with you?" Darry asked

"I don't know. I don't really feel comfortable walking alone. But this is something private between my Grandma and I. I don't want Two-bit to have to wait around, I'm not sure how long I'll be" I said thoughtfully

"You're right. You need to talk to your Grandma alone. How about I go in a little late tomorrow and drop you off so you only have to walk home alone" Darry asked.

"Will that be alright with your work?" I asked hesitantly I didn't want Darry to get into any trouble because he was missing work.

"It will be fine. We're slow this time of year anyway." Darry said with a reassuring smile.

"Okay than that works , thank you so much Darry" I said hugging him again quickly

"Not a problem Rachel" Darry said kindly. Not a problem Rachel, not a problem or Not a problem Rachel, it's never a problem

"I'll go get dressed and then we can head to the school?" I questioned excitement filling in me.

"That works" Darry said sitting down in his chair and pulling out a paper as I nodded and headed back to my room to get ready quickly.

The ride over had been mostly filled with silence. My mind was everywhere but in the truck with Darry.

I thought about Dally, my Grandma, my new schooling that I was about to start.

I also thought about how for the first time in a long time I was starting to feel just a little bit like my old self again. It was like someone lit a candle in the dark hallway I'd been wondering down and I wasn't as lost as before.

Pulling up to the high school was a new experience. I'd never been there my Grandma had always made this trip alone.

"Is this where you all went to school?" I questioned with interest

"Yup, this is where we all went and Pony still goes" Darry said with a slight tone of pride in his voice.

I nodded not sure what else to say.

"Are you nervous? Because you shouldn't be I won't let anything happen to you" Darry said comfortingly as he rapped his arm around my shoulder.

I smiled happiness filling me at how lucky I was to have the Curtis's in my life.

"I'll be fine" I said with a small smile even though my insides were knotting slightly at the sight of the big building.

"Okay then, lets get this done" Darry said getting out of the truck and waiting for me.

I moved a little slower due to my nervousness but this was something I wanted to do, education had always been on the top of my Grandma's must to do's.

I followed Darry about a step behind him watching him and taking in his expressions I saw pain, happiness, wistfulness and joy as we past the case for the past football players and with a quick glance I could see Darry there standing in uniform.

It must have been hard for Darry to come back here. I wasn't sure but I think the last time he'd been here was when he graduated around the time he'd lost his parents and his football scholarship to college had been turned down so he could take care of Soda and Pony.

It had to be hard for him to walk these halls again and relive all of those memories.

I followed silently to the large room marked OFFICE and with a small smile Darry sent my way as he opened the door for me, we headed in.

An elderly women looked up as we entered and her eyes went wide.

"Darryl Curtis, is that you?" She said standing up and rushing towards Darry

"Hi Mrs. Beatter" Darry said with a smile.

"As I live and breath I haven't seen you in years. How are you?" Mrs. Beatter asked joy filling her voice

"I'm doing good, how about you? Still living in your garden" Darry asked with a smile

"Oh you know I am. Mr Beatter wants me to take up a new hobby but why should I when I enjoy my garden so much" She said with a laugh Darry smiled

"Oh my who's this precious dear?" She asked when she noticed me she smiled a gentle smile at me.

I smiled back shyly.

"This is Rachel we" Darry started but was cut off as Mrs Beatter interrupted

"Oh Rachel, you're our new study at home student" She said with a smile.

I nodded not sure what else to do.

"I have all of your information and, books and assignments here." She said gesturing to the box on her desk.

"Everyone has been working so hard on this to make sure it's all doable and not going to set you back even more. I was reading threw it and I think you should be fine dear" She said with a smile

"If you get stuck ask Darryl he's always been an amazing student" She said causing Darry to blush slightly.

"All of the teachers are in classes and the principals are in meetings but there's a number on one of the first pages for you to call should you have any questions. It may take a day to get back to you but don't worry hunny, we will." She said with a smile

"Thank you so much" I said quietly not sure what to make of this outspoken women.

"Not a problem dear, now you all grab your box and run along before you get caught in the school letting out, it can get a little hectic" She said with a smile as Darry walked over and grabbed my school box

"It was nice to see you Mrs. Beatter" Darry said with a large smile

"It was great to see you too Darryl. You take care of Rachel or you'll be hearing from me" She said with a wink causing me to giggle lightly.

"Come on Rachel" Darry said leading the way out of the office.

"How do you know her Darry?" I asked curiosity lacing my voice

"She was here when I was in school. She never judged greaser unfairly, which made her a friend to all of us" Darry said with a smile lost in his memories.

I stayed silent the rest of the trip home just watching Darry reminisce in his mind, wishing he hadn't had such a life filled with hardships.


	31. Chapter 31

As the next morning came upon the Curtis's house, I wasn't sure if it was dread or excitement that had made an permeate home in my stomach.

On the one hand I was very excited to start working on my class work, but on the other hand I was nervous to go and speak with my Grandmother.

My mind couldn't help but lead to sadder thoughts, I wondered if my Grandmother would be disappointed in my direction of choices as of late. I couldn't stand that thought so whenever it came to the front of my mind I pushed it away.

I got up early so that I could get ready and look nice, I was fully aware that visiting my Grandmother would be seen as pointless in some people's eyes. But my Grandmother had been the most important person in my life for so long that I didn't want to go there looking bad or JD like. I wanted to look like the person I was trying to find. The girl my Grandmother had raised, the one who was missing.

I had combed my hair back in a sleek pony tail, had my Mary Jane's all sparkling, my skirt and shirt pressed and a nice sweater to keep any chill away or seem indecent, I was ready. I hoped .

Entering the kitchen I saw both Darry and Soda which was a surprise, I thought that Soda had left for the day.

"Good morning Rachel! You look very nice today I know your Grandmother would approve" Darry said sipping his coffee slowly

"Thank you Darry, I'm hoping she would" I said with a light smile as I could feel the blush spread over my cheeks. I ignored saying anything to Soda, he'd been ignoring me for weeks and I didn't want to let him bring down my good mood. I was sure I would get more nervous as we started our journey.

"Darry's right Rach, you look real pretty." Soda said quietly from across from Darry.

I felt shock flutter onto my face, it'd been so long since Soda had talked to me, instantly I just wanted to hug him and feel his _protective _arms around me, saving me from all the indecision and uncertainty my life had spiraled into as of late.

"Thank you Soda" I said quietly with a gentle smile trying to hold back my happiness.

"Rachel, Sodapop volunteered to drop you off to see your Grandmother, since he don't have to be in till the afternoon. I didn't want to make the decision for you, what do you think" Darry asked with his serious face giving nothing away with his expressions.

"That would be fine Darry" I said with a gentle smile not 100% sure what was going on, and not daring to allow myself to hope only to be crushed in the end.

"Great I'll give a call to one of the guys at work so they can swing by and pick me up" Darry said standing from the table.

"Why don't we just walk Soda?" I asked quietly I watched as Soda and Darry had a silent conversation before Darry nodded yes.

"We can if you'd like" Soda said with a grin

"It would probably be easier plus this way no one is inconvenienced" I said shyly

"If that's what you'd like Rachel, good luck today! I'll see you in the evening" Darry said walking over to me and grabbing me into a quick hug before heading out the door and heading to work. I listened silently to Darry's truck as he drove away.

"You all ready Rach?" Soda asked me gently his tone of voice bring back memories of our friendship that was currently damaged and broken.

"Yes I'm already Soda" I said with a gentle smile

"Then let's get this party started" Soda said leading the way out of the kitchen threw the living room and out the front door, with more excitement then I'd see him show in my presence for a while, it made my heart hurt slightly with how much I've missed my best friend.

p

p

p

The walk was rather silent at first, not awkward just searching.

"Rach I don't like this" Soda said staring at his feet while he walked along beside me.

"I'm sorry if Darry made you take me, I promise I won't be any trouble" I said frowning lightly my heart suddenly heavy.

"No I didn't mean this, I mean us and how we've become. I miss you Rach you're my best friend. I was just being a stubborn idiot can we forget it all?" Soda asked me stopping his walking so he could look me in the eyes.

"I like Dally" I said quietly enough for him to hear but not to echo through the streets.

"Okay" Soda said quietly looking down at his feet again contemplating my short sentence.

"Soda I like Dally a lot. I wake up every morning and I miss Dally so badly that it hurts. I think about him a million times a day, wondering if he's forgotten about me, if he's back with Sylvia or even if he misses me. Dally may have moved on I don't know but what I do know is that I like Dally. You have to accept that if you'd like to be friends again" I said in shock. I wasn't even sure where this was all coming from, though I realized after I said it, it was all true.

"I can accept that Rach, because I just want you to be happy, I know I failed at the best friend part before but I promise never again" Soda said after the longest few moments of my life.

I may have liked Dally a lot but that wouldn't keep me from missing my best friend, Soda, if he hadn't been able to accept the Dally part of my life.

"Aw Rach don't do that" Soda said with a small laugh.

"Don't do what?" I asked with confusion

"Give that look, the one that says I don't believe you fully but I'll give you a chance. Do I have to prove this to you?" Soda asked with a challenge in his eyes

"No Soda you don't" I said honestly

"I think I do. Come on" Soda said leading me down unfamiliar streets leaving me know choice but to follow.

I followed keeping up so I didn't lose Soda in all of these back roads, all the while going over our conversation that had led to this. I wasn't exactly sure why Soda was doing this, but I didn't think at the end of the day Darry was going to be very happy. I was sure I was going to get a longer sentence on my grounding tonight after dinner. I didn't even make it to the Cemetery to visit my Grandma.

"Here we are" Soda said bringing me out of my thoughts. My mouth hung open we had somehow arrived at bucks.

"Soda I don't know why we're here but this isn't a good idea" I said backing away

"Rach do you know how to get to the Cemetery or home from here" I thought about it and I didn't it. My answer must have showed on my face.

"Then you have to stick around. I'll be right back stay here and try not to attract trouble" Soda told me with a grin.

I nodded at a loss for what to do otherwise. I walked over to a larger rock and brushed it off gently with my hand before sitting down gently. Buck's seemed so dead from the last time I had been there, it was so strange to me.

I was going to get grounded longer and Soda was going to get into trouble for this, maybe we shouldn't say anything. But then when Darry finds out, and we'd be in more trouble. I also didn't want to lie I wanted to steer away from the bad things that were so easy to do and stay closer to the values my Grandmother raised me with.

"You look like you're thinking real hard about something" Dally's voice said cutting threw my thoughts like a knife, shocking me to the core.

My head shot up like lightning.

"Dally" Was the only reply I could think to give as I saw him standing in front of me looking down at me sitting on the rock.


End file.
